Taking breaks and catching up on rest during weekends and during holidays complete the cycle of our daily routines and help us maintain a balanced life. We need the determination to build our stamina so we can perform well at work and maintain good health. Most of us are gradually becoming more health-conscious and making attempts to live a healthier lifestyle; one way to start is to do physical fitness exercises at home or at the gym. The goal is clear, but we must always identify what our body needs to prevent injuries and accidents. You can go visit Ice Casino Canada and try your hand at an exciting game to make the best of your active rest days.
Exercise and training can be done at different levels, starting from low to medium and medium to high intensity. These levels will help when to know the time for active rest and recovery so that your body can cope and recuperate to regain the required strength for another set of workouts.
What Is Active Rest?
Active rest is very simple. It refers to continuous movements but in the slightest manner. For example, after a few sets of cardio exercises, you don’t necessarily need to stop then proceed again. But you may continue by walking or doing little movements like stretching as long as you are not exerting too much force on your body.
Others may consider resting only after the workout activity, but the result is not as satisfying as it may be. We can feel stronger and better afterwards but we fail to realize that too much working out can cause slow damage to our muscles over a period of time. But with active rest, you give your muscles time to recover and repair worn-out tissues until your body is ready to be back on the track.
Aside from fitness activities, active rest can also be done during rest days wherein you can go for a walk, do some stretching or yoga, swim, and do casual jogging, activities that are not very stressful on one’s body. Active rest or active recovery lies between low to medium intensity to give one’s body the maximum benefit.
Here are some advantages of having active rest in your daily routine and fitness training:
- Active recovery prevents muscle soreness because light exercise helps the blood circulation flow continually and discards toxins in exchange for healthier nutrients.
- It reduces the chance of acquiring long-term injury due to excessive workouts and failure to consult a personal or professional gym trainer on scheduling rest days.
- Your strength is revamped and advanced to a more potential performance because you had enough rest, and your muscle pains are relieved.
- You can easily get sleep because you aren’t already bothered by adrenalin to exert more energy, and it normalizes your hormone levels. The long hours of sleep become an advantage to a lot of hustles.
- Lastly, active rest is also a pioneer in mental health. The brain needs to pause from heavy body signals to avoid anxiety or the urge to overdo a physical activity until the body gives up. When this happens, you may not be able to carry on with the rest of the day.
When Should You Have An Active Rest?
Are you familiar with your body? If yes, then you can easily answer a few questions like “Do you feel any pain today?” or “Are you satisfied with your gym experience?” It’s definitely easy to say when you’ll have an active rest as pain is the most common denominator in terms of body conditions.
On the other hand, people consult a physician if they need to engage in physical fitness activities because they’re afraid to start and get lost in the middle of the process.
Completing 7 days for a workout is not recommended by most health enthusiasts. There’s no need for an everyday workout, but you can choose to have passive rest days depending on the level of intensity you’re allowing your body to work on.
But as compared to people who spend three to four times a week on training, they’re capable of being more efficient and doing more at work. They listen to what their body needs, so they convert the other days as their recovery time.
Who Needs an Active Rest?
Anyone who is participating in loaded sports-related workouts and gym training needs an active rest, especially the Olympic athletes.
Olympic athletes are definitely the most dedicated fitness persons. Their training is different from non-athletes, and it requires focus, determination, and perseverance. Of course, just like anybody else, Olympic athletes also have breaking points and include rest days in their routine to reboot their energy and strength.
As a matter of fact, athletes get 8 to 10 hours straight of sleep each night. According to a sleep specialist, the edge of athletes is sleep. That’s why coaches monitor the sleeping pattern of their athletes so they can manifest the maximum level of their capacity during the training and the game.
To wrap it all up, active rest is for everyone as long as we know when to have them and what type of exercise to follow. Active rest allows us to move forward with what we’re trying to shape up for our bodies. Although it may affect the excitement to accomplish physical fitness training, our body still deserves gentle care.