Hi Hayley,
I have a question about rest days. I have a VERY, VERY sedentary office job and I can work out pretty much every day without feeling fatigued. I switch it up quite often during the week, anything from snowboarding to hot yoga to running to spin class to weight lifting. I don't feel like I'm overdoing it, besides the boarding my workouts last only about an hour. I'm just wondering if I'm doing myself a disservice by not taking many rest days or if, considering the fact that I'm sitting at a desk for eight hours a day, if this is ok.
Thank you!
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It is actually ok to do physical activity every day and the Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines set by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology prescribes a MINIMUM of 150 minutes a week of cardiovascular activity which equates to a MINIMUM of 30 minutes a day 5 days a week.
Where rest days become important is when you are training vigorously and your body actually requires rest to recover from a previous day’s workout (like if you’re training for a marathon you would rest the day after your long slow run). However, the word rest does not mean you have to sit still. It can be a light cycle, a yoga class, a swim or a massage; anything that moves your body differently and at a lower intensity than it was moved in the workout you are trying to recover from (this is referred to as cross training).
If you were to have said you run 7 days a week and you are worried that you are not taking a rest day I would be more concerned but your week is full of variety and the intensities of your workouts vary so I say keep doing what you are doing but just listen to your body. If it is tired then perhaps let it rest and go see a movie rather than workout, but if you are feeling great then keep getting outside.
Attached -- Reese Witherspoon heads to yoga.
