Who here takes a rest week?

fit_fairy

fit_fairy

Cathlete
I have read in several fitness books and on other fitness related sites that it's good to take a rest week every 8 weeks or so. This means no exercise (not like P90X recovery week). Well, I think it's ok to walk and be active but no intense stuff. The general idea is to rest your muscles and then you when you start up again you come back stronger.

Who does this? I am thinking of taking a rest week this week and start another P90X rotation next week.

I know many of you don't even take a rest day much less a rest week;) I have taken time off exercise but it's usually because of illness or travel and just wonder how this will work. Guess I will see.

Catherine
 
i don'tusually take a rest week but i am working on something like that this week. except i will do a few days of cardio and the rest is pilates and yoga workout. personally i don't want to stop working out but i am feeling physically exhausted so i was just going to cut a day or two out of cardio and not do heavy weights. just some lighter cardio, pilates,yoga and swimming with viola. just enough to pass for exercise but nothing really intense. i think regardless of what you should be active. a body in motion stays in motion.


kassia

http://www.picturetrail.com/ldy_solana

"And do what thee wilt as long as ye harm none"
 
I take rest weeks...every eight weeks or so. I'll usually just do 2 or 3 days of very light cardio interspersed with yoga or pilates if I feel the desire to do so :D . They help in getting me rejuvenated both mentally and physically for another rotation.

Deni
 
I usually take a couple of rest weeks per year. It's hard to do, psychologically, but I always come back stronger and with tons of motivation.

Sparrow

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage
 
I have done it unintentionlly and I must say that when I resumed training, I felt energetic and training was good. Most of the time, I feel too awful about missing any workouts but sometimes vacations and crazy schedules had that effect and I found it beneficial from the perspsective of my muscles eve if my silly brain was uspset about it.
Bobbi "Chicks rule!"http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/tiere/animal-smiley-032.gif
Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
I don't necessarily plan rest weeks, but I allow myself several days off (not a whole week, usually) a couple of times a year when I feel I need it. Usually, these 'rests' are determined by my work commitments and preparations for conferences, etc.

If I did intense exercise all the time, I think a scheduled rest week would be necessary, but since I vary the intensities of my workouts, and take 1-2 very light workout days a week most of the time, my less formal "I'll take it when I feel I need it" plan works well for me.
 
I recently took an unintentional rest week while traveling. I was really just way too busy to do anything. I felt badly about it, but what can you do? Anyway, I just wanted to say that like Bobbi when I came back to working out again 2 weeks ago I felt great. I think that I needed that mental (thinking about working out all the time) and physical break. I think that I may try to take a scheduled rest week after 8 weeks or so now and see how it goes.

Karin
 
I think Kathryn makes a good point. I also vary the intensity of my workouts and that goes a long way to prevent over-training. I don't necessarily schedule rest days but take them as needed.
Bobbi "Chicks rule!"http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/tiere/animal-smiley-032.gif
Tell me what you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? -Mary Oliver
 
I take a week off every 3 months.When I say off I mean i'm a total slug, nothing but walking the dog.I feel great when I start up the next week.

Karen
 
Rest is very important to me. I've only realized how vital it is to my overall fitness in just the past couple of years. I will rest when I have house guests that stay for 4-5 days (that can be 2-3x/year). Sometimes I will go for a 30min run but that's it. If I am traveling out of town (usually 3-4x/year), I now travel guilt-free and use that as well-needed rest (however, depending where I am, I will sometimes get in that 30min run a couple of days). Sometimes if I have a 2 or 3 weeks in a row of intense workouts (I usually workout 6 days a week, 1 day rest), then I will follow that with a week of lower impact cardio workouts or just walking, lighter muscle training, and a day or two for active stretch, yoga, light stretches or even a second day of rest. I find that since I have been doing this (really since I had my baby in 2004) I'm much stronger overall than before, especially my legs and core, and interval workouts are much easier to do. Remember, your heart is a muscle that works very hard during fitness training and it needs a break, too!
 
As others have mentioned, I do it from time to time, but it is usually unplanned. Life gets really hectic and a couple of times a year, I don't workout for a stretch of 5-7 days. It does seem to have a positive effect on the way my body looks and also gives you time to save up your energy and motivation.

I find that when I come back to working out after a rest period, I am even more fired up than ever and work harder and longer than usual. This is a great plateau buster.
 
I also find a rest week several times a year has great benefits. I come back energized and stronger.

When I was younger I use to stress so much about it - but realize now that it has very important benefits.
 
I think I'll give it a try this week. Although I am hesitant to stop doing chinups. I am afraid I'll backslide if I don't do them. I just did 3 sets of 4 today which is my all time high reps in a set!!!

Catherine
 
I've thought about it. But the way things have been going lately, I've been getting several unplanned and unwanted rest weeks due to injuries. Maybe my body is trying to tell me something.
 
I do believe in listening to your body. I workout 5-6 days a week. If I feel like I need a day off, I take it and I don't sweat it -usually. But I've been pushing hard with chinups and doing legs twice a week for over a month and feel like a week off may do me some good.

Like I said, I've taken time off for illness or vacation, but I don't recall ever taking a scheduled week off. We'll see,..

Catherine
 
Well! I just took a rest month. It was not hard for me to jump back into it I can tell you I missed it terribly. But I did notice my saddlebags a tad bit and my abs. What I did like about it is you push yourself again and my abs hurt right to the ribcage, literally.

So maybe I will do this at the end of every May. Otherwise I usually do not miss more than one day off a week.

beth6395
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top