Video:How to Know When to Rest

Transcript:How to Know When to Rest

Hi, I'm Russ Teitsma, Owner of NJ FItness Factory in Montclair, NJ for About.com. I'm here to talk to you about when to take a day of rest.

If you plan your workout program with the right amount of rest in between muscle groups you should have plenty of time to recuperate. A lot of people think that you need to do your abs every day or workout a specific muscle group every day, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Muscles Need Rest to Build Properly

Your body needs 48 hours to recuperate. It's kind of like building a 6 story building and every day you build a story you knock it down. You need time to recuperate and build those muscles back up so they can keep growing and keep improving. The body requires 7 - 8 hours of sleep a night. Ideally, you'd like to work out each muscle group 1 - 2 times per week with at least 48 hours of rest in between muscle groups.

Schedule Rest Days in Your Exercise Program

Also, if you plan your days of rest into our workout regimen, which should be at least 1 day a week of full rest, you should be able to recuperate and not have to take an unscheduled day off the gym. If everything on you is sore, you need to ask yourself, do I just need to take a day off, am I doing too much, am I not stretching, am I not resting, am I not eating enough?

Evaluate Your Rest and Exercise Habits

You need to know yourself and know your excuses. Ask yourself am I just being lazy or do I really need a day of rest? If mentally you have nothing to give that day, it may be a bad day to resistance train because you could hurt yourself or just get a crumby workout. Either do cardio that day or just go home.

Thank you for watching. For more information, go to: exercise.about.com