Rest Day

Today is my rest day, and I have to admit I've been a bad gym trainee lately because I haven't had a day off from the gym in about 11 days. As my own trainer tells me time and again, rest is mentally and physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen.

How I understand it, strength training actually works to tear down your muscle fibers, in preparation for the body to repair and strengthen itself in the time between workouts. The body builds itself back stronger to respond to the stress it just endured. Thus, continuous training can actually work against you, because you're only tearing down your muscles (not to mention ligaments and tendons) and not giving them time to repair.

Here's some other great things you can do on your rest days, especially if you're like me and need to do something:

1. Get a massage
2. Take a Yoga class (a light one)
3. Take a Walk
4. Meditate
5. Take a nap (sleep is one of the best ways to recover)