Rest and Recovery are as Important as Exercise

By Trinisha Richardson

Too much exercise is just as damaging if not more than not enough exercise. Too much exercise can lead to injury and exhaustion. To prevent this from occurring, you should plan time in between workouts for rest and recovery. The longer and more intense the exercise, the longer the rest and recovery period should be.

Reasons for Rest and Recovery

We work out for results, right? Well, the thing that makes rest and recovery as important as exercise is that if you don’t break in between workouts, you will see no results. It actually does more damage than help. If you constantly work your body without rest, then you will not be able to exercise to your full potential; you will actually lose strength and muscle. Recovery is the time for your body to repair and build muscle. During this time of rest and recovery, your body:

• Removes chemicals that build up as a result of cell activity during exercise
• Adapts to the stress of your workout
• Replenishes depleted energy stores and repairs muscle tissue

Rest and recovery are as important as exercise because without proper rest, your body will continue to breakdown due to overtraining. Some signs of too much exercise are:

• Loss of enthusiasm
• Weakness/Loss of strength
• Fatigue/Loss of energy
• Stalling in progress
• Muscle soreness, aches, and pains
• Feeling guilty if you skip a day of working out
• Frequent illness due to lowered immunity (colds, headaches, etc.)

Rest and Recovery Methods

There are various rest and recovery methods after working out. You don’t have to lie around and do nothing for it to benefit you. For those individuals that just have to be in motion, choose a method that enables activity as a way to “cheat” recovery.

• Sleep (the most important factor in rest and recovery); Everything you do is pointless if you deprive yourself of sleep.
• Hydration
• Healthy Diet; What you eat matters (vitamins, nutrients, protein, etc.)
• Stretching/Yoga
• Massage

Tags: exercise, exhaustion, injury, muscle, rest and recovery, too much exercise