What to do on your rest days

Many people view their rest days as days where they should be doing nothing at all. In some cases, this may be correct – for example following an intense sporting competition I would advise taking the day to relax and unwind. However, I would suggest in most cases there are things you could be doing to help repair your body and prepare it for the next training session or game. I have put together a few of these suggestions for you to look at integrating into your training plan.

When your muscles are tired, or if you are suffering from DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that occurs following a tough workout you can feel that doing anything is too much effort to be worth it. Stretching however is a great way to relieve DOMS and to bring some life back into tired muscles. You don’t need to go crazy and stretch for 3 hours or anything, but even a 30-minute stretch can make you feel a lot better so it’s definitely worth the investment in time.

Another way to breathe life back into sore muscles is to use a foam roller or get a massage. In terms of cost the foam roller is a more economical investment, but every now and then it is worth seeing a physiotherapist or massage therapist and getting the knots really worked out of your muscles. Foam rollers are a great alternative to massage and most gyms have them these days. They are compressed rubber rollers which you use to massage your own muscles (use of a foam roller is sometimes called self-myofascial release). 

If you need guidance in using foam rollers either get in touch and I can help or visit this YouTube channel who have some pretty good videos of how to foam roll correctly

Sometimes your body may not feel up to a full-scale workout, but you feel that you should be doing something active. On these days I usually recommend that my clients either go for a walk or go for a swim. Both of these activities are low impact, low intensity (if you’re not powerwalking up hills or trying to break the 50m freestyle record) activities that can help to relieve stress and increase the heart rate. Often walking and swimming can also help reduce the feeling of muscle pain following a tough workout as well which is always a good thing.

Rehydration on rest days is also very important. Often we can be mildly dehydrated without realising it, especially if we exercise regularly. This is why I often suggest to clients that they use their rest days to increase their focus on rehydration. Try to get in plenty of water – not soft drinks, alcohol or fruit juice, just keep your focus on water as it will not add to your daily calorie count and will rehydrate you quickly. This will help you be fully hydrated and ready to tackle your next workout with gusto.

You don’t have to do all of the above on your rest days, I would always suggest stretching and foam but it really comes down to you. Do you have time to do a couple of these things? The great thing about them is that most of them (except walking/swimming) can be done in the comfort of home in front of the TV, it is just whether you want to make it a priority to add them into your schedule. I would suggest rolling and stretching for 2 weeks to a month and see if you are feeling better for it. 

If you have anything you like to do on your rest days that I haven’t mentioned I’d love to hear what it is. So get in touch and maybe I can add it to my schedule of things to do when I am not training.
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