People who spend time in the gym are all there in hopes to see some sort of progress.
There are several reasons why someone may not be breaking through a plateau in the gym.
Skipping rest can be one of those reasons.. and it’s something we often see.
Whether you are in and out of the gym in a blink of an eye, or working out every day and not giving yourself rest days, both of these factors can cause a stall in your progress.
Rest and recovery is crucial to avoid any type of regression.
Rest Days
In terms of your workout week, you should plan rest days between sessions.
A rest day doesn’t necessarily have to mean a full day off from training.
A rest day could include some sort of recovery session (bodyweight, low rep resistance exercises, and foam rolling), or a mobility session.
Listen to your body, then give it what it needs.
Rest Between Sets/Exercises
In terms of during your workout session, you should have appropriate rest time between your exercises and your sets.
Depending on which training phase you are in (muscular endurance, hypertrophy, or max strength), your rest time between exercises may differ.
Skipping rest between exercises or sets will not allow you to give your best effort moving forward in your workout.
Jumping from one exercise to the next without a break will put limitations on your movement control, power and strength.
What good is a workout if you’re not reaping the full benefits?
Muscle Recovery
Muscles don’t grow during the workout, they grow during the recovery.
When you lift weights, your muscles undergo microscopic tears that need time to repair and grow stronger.
Without adequate rest, your body doesn’t have time to repair the damage done during training.
Skipping rest and recovery will lead to muscle fatigue which in return decreases your strength output.
Increased Risk of Injury
Constant training without proper recovery increases your risk of getting injured.
Let’s talk sleep for instance.
If you are not getting enough quality sleep (about 7-8 hours), then your mental focus is going to start declining.
When your mental focus is declining, you are likely to loose proper form during exercise, putting you at a higher risk of getting injured.
If you’re someone who is always training, that cumulative stress will add up making injuries a likely possibility.
Have you ever heard the popular saying, “no pain no gain”?
Well it’s time to debunk that myth.
Pushing through pain in attempt to gain something from it, is only going to gain you an injury.
Ignoring becomes ignorance.
Being injured is frustrating and can stall any progress you’ve been making or are currently in the process of making.
While it feels like more work equals more progress, skipping rest can ultimately put a hold on any gains you plan to make.
