Fitness: rest & recovery is equally as effective as exercise
Although our desperation to drop a dress size may drive us to execute an extreme exercise regime - particularly if we're new to physical activity and/or eager to eliminate excess energy - our muscular, cardiovascular and neural systems all require time to recover from our exercise efforts.
In fact, failing to take time out of our religious fitness regime to rest and recuperate can not only result in a burned out body - we become prone to poor performance, increased illness and physical and psychological fatigue - but an unmotivated mind that fails to find fitness fun - we bombard our beaten brain with an abundance of exaggerated excuses in an attempt to avoid participating in physical activity.
Instead of increasing the incidence of injury, exercise exhaustion and diminished determination by subjecting your body and brain to the strategic training sessions that don't schedule time to regain physical and psychological strength, don't be scared to take a step back from fitness by incorporating regular rest days into your regime - this is particularly important if you're prone to participating in weighted workouts which are renowned for resulting in delayed onset muscle soreness (the muscular soreness and stiffness experienced one to two days after exercise) and/or train with increased intensity.
Although it may be tough to take time out of a religious regime - an action that dedicated dieters and fitness fanatics often find difficult - it's important to remember that the body reaps more results when it's receiving the down time that it requires to relax, rejuvenate and repair (and grow!) torn muscle fibres, not when it's being overwhelmed and overworked with strenuous training sessions.
Take home tip: the tougher your training, the more time you should take to recuperate - this may be between 24-48* depending on your susceptibility to muscular soreness.
Although you don't need to train 6-7 times a week (this is counterproductive!), you do need to listen to your body and tweak your training to allow adequate rest and recovery between strenuous sessions. If something as simple as a speedy walk (a fundamental form of active recovery) fails to satisfy you psychologically, aiming to target and train different muscle groups on different days (i.e a weighted arm workout whilst resting your legs and visa versa the following day) will ensure that your exercise efforts are effective, and not eliminated.
www.twitter.com/BunsandGunsUK
www.bunsandguns.co.uk
Comments
Post a Comment