A question that anyone who consistently stays active, whether by doing Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, or anything else that requires a strain on the body, will find themselves asking is: when to keep on training and being active, and when to take time to rest and allow the body to recover. This is something I’ve personally struggled with in the past and still do from time to time.
Rest days are just as important as the days you put in the work and push yourself. Rest days allow your body time to heal, re-build, and get stronger so that on your active days you can push even farther for longer and feel more confident upping the difficulty.
[Why You Want Active Recovery In Your Life]
It can be a struggle to allow yourself to step back and take a day off, especially when you’re having a strong week or two. But it’s better to take that rest time for your body to heal up the soreness and the everyday aches and pains from training than to ignore those aches until they progress into an injury that will take you off the mats for longer than a day’s rest would have.
Building a set day to rest and recover is a good way to intentionally structure it into your weekly training schedule. However, it’s important to listen to your body and allow yourself to be flexible. Let yourself be okay with changing up your rest day up or extending that day into a couple of days if you need to.
[Structure is the Spice of Life: Crush It]
If you feel like you might’ve injured yourself during a training session (even if it’s only a minor irritation), it would probably be best to take the following day as a rest day, even if that wasn’t the original plan. Taking more time off than just one day might be the case sometimes — that’s okay.
If you still feel some lingering pain from that minor injury you sustained in training, taking a couple days off would be good for your body and all around physical fitness. It’s better to miss a day or two for something small than to let it escalate into a major injury that could take you out for an extended period of time. The more consistent you become with your training, the easier it will be for you to distinguish a potential injury from the normal soreness and aches you get from training.
Rest days can look different for everyone, whether that means not engaging in any kind of workout, or going on a short jog or swim. Regardless of what a typical rest day looks like for you, it’s important to take plenty of time to stretch, roll out your legs, cold plunge, sauna or maybe get a massage.
People who build a habit of being physically active generally try to stick to a healthy diet as well. I think eating good, well-balanced meals becomes especially important when you’re taking time to rest. A healthy meal packed with your needed protein and nutrient intake will give your body the necessary fuel to repair what needs mending, fully recover and get back to training!
