How Many Rest Days Between Workouts?
When you’re laser-focused on your fitness goals, it’s not unusual to let “rest days” sink to the bottom of your priority list. But recovery is just as integral to physical health as workouts themselves—they help build strength, hone performance, and lower your risk of injury.
So, how many rest days between workouts are needed to experience these benefits?
Ideally, you’ll get between 48 and 72 hours of rest between training days. If you love high-intensity workouts, the American Council on Exercise recommends at least 1 full, passive rest day every 7 to 10 days.
Below, we explain how rest days work to fuel future workouts and what you can do to help your body bounce (and build) back even better.
Why Rest Days Help Fuel Future Workouts
Whether you’re fresh to fitness or a five-star athlete, rest days and recovery periods can make or break your immediate and long-term physical health. While you’re taking it easy, your body is hard at work—on a molecular level—making necessary repairs to accommodate your next workout.
Specifically, rest days promote:
- Muscle repair and growth – During periods of exertion, your muscle fibers get “micro-tears” from the physical stress. When you take the time to rest after training, these tears have time to heal and grow, creating even stronger muscle tissue. In sports science, this process is known as muscular hypertrophy.
- Glycogen replenishment – Glycogen is the main substance your body uses to fuel workouts. Intense training sessions deplete your reserves, which are located in your muscles and liver. Rest days—aided by a carb-rich post-workout meal—allow your body to replenish its stores. This facilitates muscle repair and growth and helps you avoid muscle fatigue.
- Hormonal balance – Physically speaking, your body regards exercise as a type of stress. As a result, cortisol (the stress hormone) tends to rise during training sessions. If you engage in intense or frequent workouts, rest days help prevent you from entering a catabolic state: when your body can begin breaking down muscle, rather than repairing it. Rest also allows your endocrine system to even out, potentially reducing your risk of developing hormonal imbalances.
On a macro level, rest days help you avoid overtraining, which can cause you to feel mentally and physically burnt out after gym time. By treating rest days as a critical component—rather than an enemy—of your regimen, you’re likely to see stronger, more sustainable results from the effort you put in while active.
Understanding Active vs. Passive Recovery
Different types of workouts can require different types of recovery periods. For instance, you may not need a full rest day if your preferred exercise is gentle yoga.
Rest days are most crucial for those who engage in high-intensity or endurance training, where muscular hypertrophy is most likely to occur. For this reason, it’s important to make a distinction between “active” and “passive” recovery time:
- Active recovery can include low-stress exercise to maintain circulation and tone your muscles. Active recovery days could incorporate exercises like:
- Brisk walking
- Swimming
- Yoga
- Stretching
- Passive recovery includes no exercise—a complete state of physical rest. This is ideal if you engage in high-intensity training, especially regularly. On these days, feel free to treat reading, doing your favorite hobby, or simply lounging on the couch as your workout for the day. Savor it!
Don’t Forget Post-Workout Recovery
Rest days are important, but you can support your recovery even more by taking some simple steps just after your training sessions.
Here’s what you can do to support your body as you transition to that recovery period:
- Cool down – Before clocking out of the gym, be sure to fit in at least 10 minutes of wind-down movement. Low-intensity exercises help bring your heart rate and blood pressure back to baseline.
- Stretch – Stretching helps to limit muscle soreness and promote flexibility. It’s thought that stretching in conjunction with cool-down periods may help prevent your muscles from getting stiff and sore down the line.
- Hydrate – If you’re doing it right, you’re likely to lose a lot of moisture while you’re exercising. Some people can forfeit up to 2 quarts of fluid (and salt) per hour of high-intensity training. Ideally, adults will drink 16 to 24 oz. of water or sports beverages after working out.
- Fuel up – Post-workout snacks help restock glycogen stores and promote muscle repair and growth. Your ideal post-workout meal can depend on the type of workout you’ve done, as well as your individual needs. To simplify things, carbs are ideal for recovery, while protein assists with muscle repair and growth.
Build Holistic Health at Chuze Fitness
Once you’ve taken some time off your feet, rededicate yourself to your workouts at Chuze Fitness. With one of the highest-value memberships you’ll find, you can enjoy access to premium, clean gym equipment, countless group classes, and even a movie theater where you can train while staying entertained. Need childcare? Chuze Fitness has that, too. Please note, that this service is not available at every Chuze Fitness, be sure to check the location page of your local Chuze.
Break from the routine and hit your next best stride with a free 7-day pass today.
Sources:
Healthline. Are Rest Days Important for Exercise?
https://www.healthline.com/health/exercise-fitness/rest-day#benefits
NCBI. Effects of Different Between Test Rest Intervals in Reproducibility of the 10-Repetition Maximum Load Test: A Pilot Study with Recreationally Resistance Trained Men. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6719818/
Healthline. Muscular Hypertrophy and Your Workout.
https://www.healthline.com/health/muscular-hypertrophy#definition
Runner’s World. Cortisol and exercise: What you need to know.
https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/health/mental-health/a60125903/cortisol-and-exercise/
Verywell Fit. Why You Need Rest and Recovery After Exercise. https://www.verywellfit.com/the-benefits-of-rest-and-recovery-after-exercise-3120575
Mayo Clinic. Aerobic exercise: How to warm up and cool down. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20045517
Johns Hopkins Medicine. Sports and Hydration for Athletes: Q&A with a Dietitian.
Ani is the Vice President of Fitness at Chuze Fitness and oversees the group fitness and team training departments. She’s had a 25+ year career in club management, personal training, group exercise and instructor training. Ani lives with her husband and son in San Diego, CA and loves hot yoga, snowboarding and all things wellness.