Let\u2019s take a closer look at some of the benefits you can enjoy by remembering to take rest days:<\/p>\n Do you know how your muscles grow? When you weight train to exhaustion, you are actually creating small tears in your muscles. When that happens, specialized cells in your connective tissue called fibroblasts come together to repair these tears, thus increasing muscle density. However, this doesn\u2019t happen overnight, and that\u2019s one of the reasons we don\u2019t train the same muscle group two days in a row. Taking a rest day allows your body to \u2018catch up\u2019 and heal these microscopic injuries.<\/p>\n Carbohydrates are your body\u2019s main source of fuel and come from many of the foods you eat. Once ingested, your body converts them into glucose and stores them as glycogen. When you work out, your body pulls from your glycogen stores, giving you enough energy to perform (unless you have achieved ketosis<\/a>, in which case your body would be burning fat). Once these glycogen stores are depleted, you\u2019re essentially \u2018out of gas\u2019. Muscle soreness<\/a> and fatigue are two ways that your body tells you it\u2019s time to rest. Listening to those signs and taking a rest day gives your body a chance to \u2018refill\u2019 its glycogen stores.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re fatigued, you are at higher risk of injuring yourself while working out. Taking a rest day lowers your risk of hurting yourself. Not only that, many athletes run the risk of performance injury due to repetitive motion or from overusing certain muscles. Your hip flexors are especially at risk if you\u2019re constantly putting them through the strain of squatting heavy weight<\/a>. However, shoulder and knee injuries are also common due to repetitive motion.<\/p>\n Many hormones are released during exercise including endorphins and dopamine (which is why exercise can be so addicting) growth hormone (to grow those muscles) and, notably, cortisol and adrenaline, which are stress hormones. Over-exercising,<\/a> though, can lead to your body overproducing these hormones and may affect your ability to fall asleep.<\/p>\n When your body is ready for a break, it will tell you. You might feel tired or clumsy, or experience muscle soreness or weakness. What\u2019s more, over-exercise isn\u2019t the only reason you might need a break. Stress at work or in your personal life, being too busy or suffering financial hardship are incredibly difficult things to put your body through, and while some people find relief in exercise (and you might be one of them) that doesn\u2019t mean it has to be your only outlet. Listen to what your body is saying: if it\u2019s truly too tired to workout today, then don\u2019t. Tuning in to your body\u2019s signals will improve the connection between your mind and body, and that is going to be a huge advantage when you\u2019re ready to get back in the gym.<\/p>\n It\u2019s thrilling when you first notice that your clothes are a little looser, or see that ripple of muscle definition that wasn\u2019t there last week. Being able to lift more than when you began is a huge accomplishment and one worth celebrating. It\u2019s what motivates you to keep going. So, keep that momentum up, not by burning yourself out in the gym, but by resting and giving it 110% when you come back.<\/p>\n Have you \u2018hit the wall\u2019 earlier than you thought you would? Have a hard time concentrating or keeping good form? Are your muscles cramping up? These are all signs of burnout. A lot of athletes make the mistake of \u2018pushing through\u2019 burnout in the name of building up their endurance, but those are two different things. Don\u2019t confuse hard work with overwork.<\/p>\n Your body isn\u2019t the only thing that suffers when you overwork it. If your mind feels cloudy, if you\u2019re having a hard time making decisions or feel uncoordinated, clumsy, lethargic or heavy, you might be experiencing the cognitive signs of burnout. Taking a rest day and doing something relaxing and rewarding are a few ways to bounce back and be your sharpest self.<\/p>\n \u201cNot only is it good to have rest days,\u201d says Hawksworth, \u201cit\u2019s actually imperative for muscle building and body fat loss.\u201d With that being said, that doesn\u2019t mean that a rest day is an excuse to do absolutely nothing. In general, it\u2019s important to incorporate a bit of movement into our lives daily. Rest days can be designated for low-stress, low-impact movement. \u201cGoing for walks, hikes, mobility work, light stretches or housework [are all good options]. Doing this is actually more conducive to recovery and it actually helps you build more muscle.\u201d<\/p>\n Did you know your genes can influence your workouts? <\/strong>Certain exercises can suit you more than others, according to your unique genetic makeup. A DNA test from CircleDNA can point you in the right direction and help you customize your workout plan so you see optimal results. Simply view your genetic fitness reports from CircleDNA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some people think the quickest way to see results from working out is to exhaust themselves in the gym every single day, and fail to recognize how… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2427,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9067,3],"tags":[392,9113,4623,63,394,5061,49,4387,76],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","category-wellness","tag-easter","tag-fitness","tag-important","tag-pessimism-en","tag-rest-days","tag-routine","tag-teeth-grinding-en","tag-wellness","tag-whole-grains-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.circledna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"circlemagazine-circledna-rest-days\"](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1536090611090-72f1ca7d71d6?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8NDd8fG11c2NsZXxlbnwwfHwwfHw%3D&w=1000&q=80\")
Rest Days Allow for Muscle Growth<\/h2>\n
Rest Days Give Your Body a Chance to Replenish Energy Stores<\/h2>\n
You\u2019ll Reduce Your Risk of Injury<\/h2>\n
You\u2019ll Sleep Better<\/h2>\n
Rest Days Improve the Mind\/Body Connection<\/h2>\n
![\"circlemagazine-circledna-rest-days\"](\"https:\/\/images.unsplash.com\/photo-1522898467493-49726bf28798?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8MTl8fGFjaGlldmUlMjBmaXRuZXNzfGVufDB8fDB8fA%3D%3D&w=1000&q=80\")
Rest Days Give You a Period to Celebrate Your Achievements<\/h2>\n
Prevent Burnout<\/h2>\n
Allow Your Mind to Rest<\/h2>\n
The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n