If you’re trying to remain consistent with exercise this year, it may sound counterintuitive to purposefully take days off. But, the reality is, sometimes you have to drop the dumbbells and focus on recovery.
Just as you need to sleep after a long day, experts say that fitting rest days into your exercise routine can be just as important as the exercising itself. Rest days allow your body to recover and reap what you’ve sown.
Below, we break down the science of what happens to your body and mind on a rest day, offering some advice from experts on the different types of recovery. Most importantly, we advise you on how to properly fit recovery days into your weekly workout routine.
The Science Behind Rest
Ever felt burnt out at work due to a neverending load of responsibilities? The same can happen with exercise. Not taking adequate recovery time can burn you out physically and mentally— ultimately setting you back.
On a broader level, engaging in any form of exercise puts stress on all systems of the body—interrupting its state of homeostasis. You might not realize it, but exercise impacts your “nervous and peripheral nervous systems, cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, renal, endocrine and immune systems,” according to research.
Adding rest to your routine helps bring your body back into homeostasis, balancing your hormones and calming your nervous system. This can reduce any irritability, mood disturbances, and fatigue that can come with overtraining.
Rest days are especially key to women who work out. Unlike men, women experience a range of hormonal changes over the course of a month due to their menstrual cycle. “Overtraining without recovery can increase stress hormones and disrupt these systems, making progress harder and fatigue more likely,” says obé’s director of programming, Melody D.
On a physical level, when you strength train, tiny tears form in your muscle fibers, says Melody. Resting after training a certain muscle group allows your body some time and space to breathe and repair the muscles, boosting strength, endurance and reducing your chances of getting injured.
There are some key parts of rest to pay attention to on recovery days. Adding in sleep and proper fuel, like protein, further boosts the positive impacts of resting. “Sleep is especially critical because it’s when growth hormone levels peak, supercharging muscle repair and growth,” says Melody.
How To Take a Recovery Day
Rest can look different for everyone. In general, Melody recommends everyone focus on getting in at least three to five days of vigorous activity (whether that’s strength training, HIIT, or cardio) per week. That leaves at minimum, two days for recovery.
But what does ‘rest’ even look like? For some, rest might mean getting cozy on the couch and watching Netflix. But if you still can’t quite get over the idea of not doing anything, you can still rest your body while getting some movement in. The key is to pay attention to the intensity and type of movement.
According to research, ‘active recovery’—whether that’s in the form of walking, Yoga, or a casual stretch—can be effective for reducing muscle pain and soreness from a tough week of workouts. It does so by enhancing blood flow in muscle tissue which helps to remove metabolic waste.
If you’re not sure where to start, Melody recommends walking because it can be done at any pace and still improves circulation and reduces muscle stiffness. “It’s low-impact, accessible, and incredibly effective for overall health,” she says.
“Even a brisk 20-minute walk can increase oxygen flow to muscles and support recovery without adding unnecessary strain. Plus, walking outdoors offers mental health benefits like reduced stress and improved mood, which further enhances recovery.” (More about the impressive benefits of walking, here.)
Modes of Recovery to Try
Besides walking, obé offers a variety of recovery-focused modalities and programs, all designed to improve movement quality, flexibility, and overall recovery.
- Mobility training and stretching: When you’re engaging in weekly exercise, maintaining flexibility and stable joints can help improve performance and avoid injury. Mobility training (check on-demand options here) and stretching (so many classes here!) include exercises that use a wide range of motion and help activate certain muscles.
- Yoga: According to research, Yoga can be considered a form of mobility training, and can also improve balance among other athletic performance markers. It also has a range of mental health benefits, including reduced anxiety, depression, and improved cognitive functioning. Luckily, obé has tons of accessible on-demand class options—ranging from beginner-friendly flows to athletic power Yoga workouts.
- Pilates: Similar to Yoga, Pilates can increase mobility while also offering a range of mental health benefits. More on the benefits of Pilates here, classes here, and a beginner-friendly intro program course, here.
- Foam rolling: You can reap a lot of benefits from foam rolling, which is considered a self-myofascial release (SMR) technique. To foam roll, you press a tube made of foam over tight spots in your body to reduce muscle tightness and improve circulation, speeding up recovery while promoting relaxation, says Melody. While you can do this on rest days, you can also do it before and/or after workouts. Here are some obé classes for guidance.
- Mindfulness: When taking a rest day, it’s important to consider your mental health, as it can be incredibly connected to your physical health. obé has a series of Mindfulness classes like Breathwork and Meditation, that help downregulate stress signals from intense training, promoting faster recovery and mental relaxation, Melody says.
For a more structured approach, Melody recommends obé’s 4-week Recovery Essentials program. It combines mobility, breathwork, walks, foam rolling, and the CO2 Tolerance Test to assess recovery readiness.
These techniques support your fitness journey by integrating low-stress movement and smart recovery into your weekly schedule—a perfect complement to any training plan. The best part? You can use these classes as a supplement post-workout or as an aid for rest days.
The Bottom Line
While working out can boost physical and mental health, you need rest days to reap its benefits. And if you’re someone who loves movement, building rest into your routine doesn’t mean you have to abandon it completely. Active recovery allows you to embrace movement while avoiding burnout.
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