A trending phrase that’s got me fired up right now is rest day.

Recovery day? Yes! 

Active Recovery? Even better! 

But rest and recovery get used interchangeably. And they’re not the same. 

To rest is to stop working. As a training variable, rest is the time between sets or intervals. Globally, it means no work is being done, like resting between sprints. Specifically, it means no work is being done on a particular body part or energy system. You implement this variable every time you super-set upper and lower body exercises (your upper body gets to rest while your legs work and vice-verse). 

Another way you incorporate specific rest is by training different muscles or different energy systems on different days. If you trained upper body yesterday, you can rest those muscles today as you work legs or do cardio. Or if you did HIIT or sprints yesterday, training your glycoletic system, today you would opt for steady state cardio to train your aerobic system. All work doesn’t have to stop in order for you to get rest where you need it. This is why it’s important to program a variety of workouts throughout the week. 

Recovery, on the other hand, is an active, participatory process. The definition I like is a return to normal.

Recovery should absolutely be part of your routine. Here’s what effective recovery looks like: 

• Sleep! 7-9 hours every night
• Getting a massage or doing self-myofascial release
• Rejuvenating activities with friends and family
• Anything else that fills your cup
• Active recovery (walking, Pilates, yoga, mobility, corrective exercises, physical therapy exercises)

The reason I’m so fired up is that rest days are used to justify workouts that are too long and too intense (especially for women over 40 who want to lose weight). Or they’re a substitute for a healthy lifestyle (including sleep). 

If your workouts are destroying you or you’re exhausted, the solution is not lying on the couch watching Neflix all day and then going back to the same soul-crushing routine. You need to dial down the intensity and the duration of your workouts. Keep the workouts under an hour and take a break from intense bootcamp workouts and running. And you probably have some ideas about what else you need to do. Like prioritizing sleep, upholding your boundaries (professional and personal), eating healthy, drinking more water, etc. Another one you may not have considered is changing your mindset around stress. Read The Upside of Stress if you have life stressors beyond your control.

Remember! Your physical health, emotional well-being, and cognitive function rely on daily movement. That doesn’t mean you need to go for a run or do an intense workout every day. But it does means that you need to keep moving. You can create a life (including an effective fitness routine) and a mindset that supports you and energizes you every day. 

Alicia Cross is a Certified Personal Trainer, Accountability Coach, and Yoga Teacher with more than 20 years’ experience working with clients just like you. If you have questions, email Alicia@AliciaCrossTraining.com.

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Related Posts:

You Don’t Need a Rest Day. You Need Recovery.

How to Recover from Your Workouts

Sleep: The Foundation of Recovery