HEALTH

Workouts

Why taking rest days makes you healthier (and fitter!)

 

Hitting the gym a few times a week is awesome, for your bod and your brain. From zumba to yoga to just running on the treadmill, getting in a sweat sesh is important in staying healthy. But if you're going *every* single day, you could be doing more harm than good. Below are the top three reasons to fit some rest days into your sched:

1. Your muscles need to repair. Whenever you lift weights or do a tough bootcamp class, you're building strength...by making miniscule tears in your muscles. Ouch. Those tears need time to rebuild, which rest days allow them to do. If you don't let them heal, you're at a greater risk for injury or just burnout. Plus, the time away from the gym is when the work *really* happens.

2. You'll sleep better. Overexercising can put  your body in a constant state of stress or alertness, which means your sleep will suffer. And your bod regenerates and grows stronger while you snooze, so it's important to get quality sleep every night. If you are having difficulty falling or staying asleep, your training sched might be the problem.

3. You won't feel so great. When you aren't resting enough, it can make your immune system weaker, so you get sick more easily. Plus, if you're going hard at the gym every single day for hours, you're going to be *exhausted* and it could even lead to anxiety and depression. And, of course, rest days give you free time to do the fun things in life, like grab Chipotle with your besties or have some quality bonding time with your fam.

Do you take rest days from working out? Let us know below! 

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by Amanda Tarlton | 5/29/2018
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