Add Rest Days to Your Workout Routine
June 2, 2020
Henry Ford Health System
Whether you're new to exercise or a seasoned enthusiast, it's tempting to adopt an all-go, no-quit attitude. This is especially common when you're are trying to achieve a fitness goal. Maybe you want to run a 5K, or maybe you have 10 pounds you want to shed before going on vacation.
"Whatever the driver, it's important to remember that scheduling time for rest and rejuvenation is a critical component of any workout regimen," says James Moeller, M.D., a sports medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health System.
Building in Rest Days
From high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and spin to barre and Zumba, popular workouts increasingly push exercisers to go faster, longer, stronger. This prolonged physical stress can lead to overuse injuries, such as stress fractures, muscle strains and joint pain. Excessive exercise can also lead to hormonal changes, disrupted sleep patterns, decreased immunity and mood swings.
“Working out, especially resistance training, breaks tissues down, causing microscopic damage,” Dr. Moeller says. "Rest days allow your muscles time to rebuild."
So how much rest do you really need? There isn't a one-size-fits-all prescription. Factors like your age, fitness level, the intensity of your workout and the amount of training you do weekly will impact the amount of recovery time you need. But there are some basic guidelines for rest days:
1. Go easy: Rest is a relative term. "It's not just sitting on the couch with an iced tea," says Dr. Moeller. "You may still be exercising on 'rest' days, but at a lower intensity." Maybe you go for a brisk walk or ride your bike to work. Take a yoga class or do some dynamic stretching. The key is to make sure you're not overworking the same body parts.
2. Get sufficient sleep: Sleep is a key component of muscle repair and rebuilding. During sleep, your body’s production of growth hormone increases. Not getting quality shuteye thwarts your body's production of growth hormone and can impact your performance.
3. Give overtaxed muscles a break: You don't need to skip the gym on specific days each week, but you do need to rotate which body parts you're working. The general rule is to give muscles 48 hours to recover after a workout. So it's a good idea to take two to three days off before working the same muscle groups again.
4. Stay hydrated: Make sure to restore lost fluids before, during and after a workout. Dehydration can lead to overheating, headaches and muscle fatigue, among other ailments. You don’t need a sports drink; water is best. "Sports drinks aren't required unless you're getting into very high intensity activity, or exercising for more than one hour at a time," Dr. Moeller says.
5. Pay attention to your body: A lot of people try to work out through pain and fatigue. If there's a heaviness to your movements, or if you feel like your muscles are not responding appropriately to the stress you're providing, take a time out. "It's really about learning to read your body's signals," says Dr. Moeller.
Health authorities and news headlines widely publicize the health benefits of exercise — and the consequences of inactivity. The American Heart Association recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week, plus strength training two or three days per week. Less discussed are the negative effects of not allowing your body sufficient time to rest.
Getting sufficient rest between workouts is just as important as participating in regular exercise. "Both are part of the total process required to build strength, endurance and muscle mass," Dr. Moeller says.
Want to learn more? Henry Ford Health System sports medicine experts are treating the whole athlete, in a whole new way. From nutrition to neurology, and from injury prevention to treatment of sports-related conditions, they can give your athlete a unique game plan.
Visit henryford.com/sports or call (313) 972-4216 for an appointment within 24 business hours.
NFHS Voice: Salute Seniors with Spring on Hold
March 27, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
A visitor to the local high school in late March would normally find boys and girls engaged in track and field, baseball, softball and lacrosse practices. Inside the building, some students would be involved with speech or debate activities. Unfortunately, this is not a normal year – far from it.
Spring sports playing fields are empty. High school sports and activities, with more than 12 million participants, are on pause, and high school athletes, coaches, athletic directors, parents and other fans are trying to determine when these programs will return.
The ever-changing news we are receiving almost on an hourly basis is more than one can comprehend as we all deal with this global health crisis. Each day, with the spread of the coronavirus, we try to determine what has changed since the day before. Can we go to work? Can we leave our house to go to the store?
Like every other activity in our nation, high school sports and activity programs are on hold. With all schools closed for varying amounts of time – some to the end of the academic year – millions of participants in spring sports and activities are on the sidelines awaiting the green light for competition to resume.
In past years, our member state associations and the 19,500 high schools across the country have had to postpone or cancel events for short periods of time due to weather or other factors, but this is unprecedented. The reality is that spring sports may never occur in some states – particularly those where schools are closed for the academic year. And this would be doubly disappointing in those states that were not able to conduct or complete state basketball championships.
The possibility of losing spring sports is particularly disappointing for graduating seniors. While everyone is affected by this health crisis and has their own issues to confront, it is important for everyone involved in high school activity programs to salute those seniors – boys and girls in sports and activities programs who have sacrificed for 3½ years but may not be able to reach the finish line.
While they may miss some of the final games and events, the benefits of being involved in these programs will carry them for a lifetime. The early-morning practices, offseason workouts and late-night studying after a day of activities will undoubtedly make them stronger and more dedicated in their future professions.
We thank all high school athletes and performing arts participants for the great memories – especially those who may not be able to complete their races or sing in the music ensemble this year. While some will have more competitive opportunities in sports and activities, for others that continued involvement may be in the form of coaching or officiating, but the impact of involvement in these programs will last a lifetime.
There have been times in the past when high school sports and performing arts helped individuals in communities through difficult times – events like weather-related disasters or school shootings as examples. We believe that these programs will play an even larger role once the coronavirus pandemic subsides and we are able to return to normalcy.
Why? Because after our days, weeks and perhaps months of social distancing, teamwork will help us all come back together, and there is no better demonstration of teamwork than education-based high school sports and activity programs.
We all anxiously await the day when the whistles blow and the curtains rise again.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.