I think I understand the difference between a rest day and an active recovery day, but what I need to know is this... are both absolutely necessary? As I age, I'm loving active recovery days. A gentle hike (in warm weather), Tai Chi, gentle yoga, long stretch sessions, Classical Stretch/Essentrics (focuses on range of motion/flexibility through movement/balance)... they move my body enough to keep my back, joints, etc. from getting stiff. They also allow me to recover from the more challenging workouts I've done earlier in the week. The rest days, well... I kind of suck at them. My body ends up hurting, I'm fidgety (exercise, since I was a young child always helped relieve this), my mood takes a downswing, etc. I'm not spending my rest days sitting. I'm spending them working, doing household chores, taking care of my adult son (disabled), etc. I'm still moving. I rarely sit down. I don't have the time, and frankly, my body hurts when I do. My regular movements throughout an average day are because I have to, and they're not necessarily even (I reach with one hand more than the other, bend to accomplish something - and there's no opposing movement to balance it out, etc.). So, after a rest day, I end up feeling "unbalanced" and stiff, making getting back to my workouts downright painful, forcing me to modify to the point that the workouts for the first 2 or 3 days aren't very productive. I've tried taking rest days separate from recovery days, and I've tried taking them back to back. I hope this all makes sense, because here's my question: Are rest days necessary? If so, what am I doing wrong, because my body isn't responding well to them? I know you say to listen to our bodies, and you say to take rest days, but my body says it needs two active recovery days a week and no rest days. Am I misunderstanding what a rest day is, or do some people do better without them? I rarely get sick, but when I do, I still have to at least do a Tai Chi or stretch workout. If I don't, my illness lasts longer, and my back and joints hurt so badly that I have trouble being comfortable in my body.