One general rule I always share with my private clients is that if the pain is coming from above the neck, it's okay to workout. If the pain is below the neck, skipping the gym is a good idea. The exception to this rule is if you're running a fever. If you have a fever, exercise should be off the table.
You're chronically sore
If you're sore for days after you train (72 hours or more), you're overtraining and not giving your body the rest it needs. In this case, dial it back, avoid the gym and consider how you can restructure your routine to give yourself more time for rest and repair.
For both men and women, overexercise raises the risk of overuse injuries, like tendinitis and stress fractures. These injuries result from repetitive trauma. Your immune system can likewise suffer. While moderate exercise can improve your immune system, excessive exercise can actually suppress it.
“Overtraining can lead to overuse injuries such as muscle strains, stress fractures or tendon injuries.” Plus, when you exercise too much, you may lose your motivation or simply no longer enjoy your sports or workouts,” said Amy Jo Overlin, MD, a sports medicine physician at Banner Health in Phoenix, AZ.
The World Health Organization recommends that adults ages 18 to 64 get at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. If you can, they specify that two days should be focused on strengthening muscles, like resistance or weight training.
If you continue your usual exercise regimen even when you're sore, you're not giving your muscles enough time to heal. In fact, pushing yourself during a bout of soreness can eventually lead to an overuse injury. Overall, you're at risk of causing harm to your body by not resting.
It depends, experts say. “Research also shows that if you sleep better, you're more likely to be able to engage in exercise and your physical activity levels are going to be higher,” Zee said. “So I would say that even if you have had a bad night's sleep, you should maintain your physical activity.”
To be clear: the WORST thing you can do on your rest day is absolutely nothing. You want to aim for light, gentle movements. “Avoid strenuous activities which would put more stress on the body. Rest days can consist of normal activities such as walking, light cardio, etc.
Rest day workouts are the activities you do to stay active without doing traditional fitness routines. On your recovery day, you stop doing high-intensity exercises and replace them with low-intensity activities. You keep your body moving but don't let it reach those extreme stress conditions.
Without a rest day, muscles, joints, and other important structures do not have adequate time to repair themselves. People may also become mentally exhausted and more prone to making mistakes while training. Continually pushing on without a rest day will eventually lead to injury.
The 80/20 what? Simply put, the 80/20 rule of running training states that 80% of your weekly training time should be done at an easy effort level, with 20% consisting of harder running. The distinction between easy and hard is based on the athlete's ventilatory 'threshold'.
Boosts your workout performance
However, ongoing studies suggest that afternoon or evening exercise may improve athletic performance. One very small study found that muscle fatigue is lower during evening workouts than morning workouts. This can help you build endurance by exercising for longer periods.
This means that pushing yourself too hard may not be a good strategy for reaching your fitness goals. According to the 80/20 rule, 80% of the results (like losing weight or building muscles) that you achieve through your workouts come from 20% of the time (effort) you devote to training.
“Sometimes doing nothing is absolutely fine,” says Dr Oluwajana “But you shouldn't be feeling completely sleepy, down or hungry on days off.” If you do, it could be a sign of overtraining and too much reliance on the cortisol and adrenaline to keep you going, she says.
Contrary to popular belief, your muscles grow in the rest period between sessions, which may give you an incentive to take more rest days between workouts (if preventing injury isn't good enough for you!).
Medical Daily recommends taking a day off from moderate- to high-intensity fitness approximately every third day. You can take active rest days by going for walks or doing some lower-impact yoga.
You need a day off
If you're unenthused, feel heavy, sore, are underslept and can't really feel the benefit of doing a workout, take a day or two off. You'll likely come back the next day feeling enthused and more energetic. Note: Include 1-2 days minimum of rest per week.
Skipping a day of exercise won't cause weight gain, but frequently missing workouts may impact your weight management efforts and make it harder to stay motivated. Experts recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise and two days of resistance exercises per week.
Rest One or Two Days Per Week. For the best performance and to reach your goals in the safest and most effective way possible, plan for one to two rest days per week. Olenick recommended spacing these out — take one rest day mid-week and the other on the weekend, or in between bigger workouts.
If you're feeling lazy, you most likely have low energy. You may feel tired throughout the day and unmotivated to do anything. Feeling tired can come from burnout or stress. If you're burnt out at work or school, you may often find yourself wanting to sleep or relax since you're overexerted physically and mentally.
Sleeping a lot isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sleep is important. Not getting enough sleep puts you at risk for health problems, from heart disease to obesity to diabetes. However, sleeping a lot all of a sudden when you didn't before might be a reason to look closely at what is going on with your health.