I’m currently on week 4 of Insanity Max 30, and up until this point, I’ve been pretty good at “respecting” my rest days. According to to the calendar, rest days are Saturday and Sunday, but I make my rest days Friday and Sunday since Friday is usually date night/ recover from the crazy week night. Plus, if I take two days off in a row, I tend to have a hard time getting back into it.
When you start a new workout program, you may not see the value in rest days. After all, is it really necessary? I mean, can’t you just skip the rest days, burn extra calories, and see the results faster? Not quite.
Why rest days are important in Insanity Max 30 (and other workout programs too!)
Like I said earlier, up until now I’ve been really good at taking those rest days. However, with Savage Race this coming weekend, I know that I’m going to need at least two recovery days before race day (Saturday). So I thought, “maybe I’ll just skip my rest days and knock out week 4 before Savage Race.” Well, I just finished my eighth Insanity Max 30 workout in a row, and I can tell you that that’s a terrible idea. My body is absolutely exhausted, and I’m having a hard time really pushing myself to the max.
The truth is, rest days are just as important as workout days. Rest days give your body time to recover from the intensity of your workouts. This is especially important if you’re doing a high-impact workout program such as Insanity Max 30. Never taking a day off makes you more susceptible to muscle soreness, a suppressed immune system, a decreased strength, and injury. Over time, you’ll begin to wear out, and your performance will suffer. Rest days benefit your mental health too. When you force yourself to take a break, you’ll get even more excited to jump back into your program. If you feel like you need to do something, consider going on a walk or doing yoga. But seriously – don’t overdo it.
What happens during recovery?
Without boring the crap out of you, I’m going to try and explain what happens during the recovery process. Recovery begins once you are done exercising. There are two forms of recovery – short-term and long-term. Both are incredibly important and help ensure that you’re able to perform your best during your workouts. Short-term recovery, also called active recovery, occurs in the hours immediately after a workout. During active recovery, your body begins the process of repairing tiny muscle tears. This helps to rebuild your muscles and to make them stronger than they were before. Long-term recovery techniques refer to those that are built into your training program. A well-designed training program includes rest days that are built into the training schedule. This is why you’ll see rest days incorporated into most – if not all – Beachbody programs.
It’s tempting to skip rest days – especially if you want to “train harder” and “push yourself.” Trust me when I say that you will not get stronger by skipping your rest days. You’ll burn yourself out, and you may even get injured. Recovery and rest days are an essential part of any fitness program – Insanity Max 30 included.
I want to know: What do you do on your rest days? Do you take the day off altogether, or do you do a low-impact workout? Let me know in the comments!
2 Responses
nick
I skipped my rest days and did other workouts. I was in the mode to do more workouts. I ended up crashing after week 6 with a plethora of injuries. Huge mistake. Your dedication to your workouts and your races have motivated me. As a person who was always in shape until about 29 years old, you have be wanting to get back on the horse.
Maynard
Thank you for this. I am the same way in that I try to workout as much as possible when it is in my routine already and I have the momentum. I skip rest days to compensate for days where I may not be able to workout at all because of work. But you’re right. I need the rest. I just feel guilty about it sometimes.