Rest Day is the Best Day!

You guys know I love my rest days, but every time I post about them I get a ton (ok, maybe 5) DM's asking if I am really resting or if I take more of an active rest day approach and if I eat less on rest days, so I thought we would debunk that mystery in today's post.

First let's quickly review how I usually structure my workout week and where I fit rest days in before diving into what a typical rest day looks like for me, both activity and nutrition wise...

Monday - Leg Day

Tuesday - Upper Body Day

Wednesday - Cardio/Hiit Day

Thursday - REST DAY

Friday - Back/Chest Day

Saturday - Full Body Day

Sunday - REST DAY

Over the years I figured out that my body does best with 2 rest days each week and a 3 days on/1 day off, 2 days on/1 day off schedule, so that's what I've stuck to, with the exception of the occasional Sunday hike or the Tighter Together challenge, which programs 6 workout days a week.

Now that we are all on the same page schedule wise, let's dive into what a typical rest day looks like for me...this was Thursday this week:

8:00A Wake up

8:15A Best part of the day...it's time for my gummy vitamins!

8:30-9:30A Work on the computer or phone to answer your awesome DM's, post comments, catch up on emails, blog, etc

9:30A Lexi wakes up (she's my little teenager and prefers to sleep as long as she can in the mornings) and we go on a little stroll for her morning potty break

10:00A Breakfast time!

• Coffee with almond milk

• Bone broth

• My freshly baked bread (Check out my "multigrain bread" Instagram highlight if you want to recreate it. It's so easy, so delicious and crunchy!)

• Avocado

• 2 Eggs

• Turkey deli meat

11:00A-12:00P More computer time

12:00-4:00P Headed to the bay for some sunshine and paddle boarding fun! We just got our own paddle board and as you have probably seen on my insta stories, even Lexi is totally into it! To be completely honest, I only spent about 15 minutes on the water today, soaking up the sun on my towel for the remaining time while watching my hubby take to the water. The bay was super calm, so although some may think this was a workout, let me assure you it was definitely not and I just enjoyed some leisurely floating while looking for sting rays, crabs and turtles.

Bay Snacks:

• Ultima for electrolytes and trance minerals (Pink lemonade is my fav!)

• Birthday cake One Bar

4:30P Return home and proceed to soak the kitchen while giving Lexi a bath in the sink. I know the tub would probably be easier, but honestly we don't have a hose in the shower, which makes washing her so much more cumbersome than just popping her in the sink, even though the kitchen floor always gets soaked in the process....what can ya do?!

5:00P By this time I was STARVING (poor planning on my part), so I quickly made a bowl with a vanilla Two Good Yogurt, Safe and Fair Birthday Cake Granola and frozen blueberries to hold me over until dinner. I also realized that I had not nearly had enough water for the day, so I definitely worked on chugging my 40 oz bottle as much as I could over the next hours to avoid a hydration headache, which I frequently get if I don't drink enough water.

7:30P Dinner time! I am still working on using up food we have in the pantry and freezer and avoiding the store until absolutely necessary, so this is another hodgepodge dinner bowl, but seriously so tasty!

• Cauli rice - I buy these pouches at Costco and they are seriously the best easiest bowl base ever!

• ButcherBox ground turkey with Trader Joe's Taco Seasoning

• Trader Joe's fire roasted peppers and onions mix

• Trader Joe's chicken cilantro mini wontons done in the air frier

• Bolthouse avocado cilantro dressing

• Pickles as a snack while I cook dinner

9:30P Dessert time, because I can seriously never end an evening without dessert, so I make sure I leave room for it every night.

• Yasso salted caramel bar

10:30P Late night snack because we were watching the last Harry Potter movie and I needed popcorn

• Lesser Evil Himalayan Salt Popcorn

11:00P Bed time!

Overall, I ended up about 20g over on carbs, 5g on fat and 4g on protein and had around 5,000 steps, all signs of a wonderful rest day if you ask me!

As you can see, when I say rest day I really do mean rest day. I don't typically come even close to hitting my 10K step goal and I am totally ok with it. Nutrition wise, I keep my macros as is or if I decide not to track, I stick to pretty much the same intake as I would normally do and sometimes I even eat more than usual (gasp I know!), partially because I have more time to think about food, but also because I just tend to be hungrier on rest days as my body works to rebuild and recover. I definitely do not believe that just because I am not working out my body somehow needs less fuel to work on recovering the muscles I tax the remaining days of the week.

With all that said, if you're like me and tend to want real evidence rather than my non certified ramble, check out the key points below researched by the Mayo Clinic as to why everyone should consider rest days part of any well rounded training program:

1. Allows time for recovery: Rest is essential for muscle recovery as it not only allows for glycogen stores to be replenished, but it also gives your body time to repair the microscopic tears in your muscle tissue that exercise causes, leaving you with stronger muscles as a result.

2. Prevents muscle fatigue: Rest is necessary for avoiding exercise induced fatigue, which can happen if you do not allow your body to refill your glycogen stores. Without access to glycogen, your muscles do not have enough fuel to function properly, resulting in muscle fatigue and soreness.

3. Reduces risk of injury: Regular rest is essential for staying safe during exercise. When your body is overworked, the risk of falling out of form, dropping a weight, or taking a wrong step increases drastically. Furthermore, over training exposes your muscles to repetitive stress and strain, increasing chances for overuse injuries.

4. Improves performance: While over training reduces performance by decreasing endurance, slowing reaction times and causing poor agility, adequate rest will have the opposite effect. Rest days ensure that your workouts stay consistent by increasing your energy and preventing fatigue, preparing your body for continued exercise success.

5. Supports healthy sleep: Physical exercise increases energy boosting hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Constant exercise, however, overproduces these hormones, causing you to have a hard time getting quality sleep, which in turn only worsens fatigue and exhaustion. Rest can assist in getting hormones back to normal and balanced levels.

As you can see, rest days are so vital to a successful training schedule, so the next time you feel even an ounce of guilt over taking a day off, remember the points above and think of it as a chance for your body to recover, allowing you hit it hard again the next day without worrying about injury or fatigue.

Rest up, buttercup!