{"id":3267,"date":"2019-02-09T15:17:08","date_gmt":"2019-02-09T15:17:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/importance-of-rest-days\/"},"modified":"2025-05-12T19:29:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T19:29:44","slug":"importance-of-rest-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/importance-of-rest-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Ways to Avoid Workout Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Fitness is a journey, says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/robertreameslive\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Reames<\/a>, a Gold\u2019s Gym fitness expert. Pushing yourself to work hard in the gym is one half of the equation. The other half is learning the importance of rest days, recovery days and how to use them to pace yourself as you work toward your goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not going to be able to do everything right away, and you don\u2019t have to,\u201d Reames says. \u201cAs long as you maintain consistency and motivation, you\u2019ll get there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h2\">Three reasons for burning out<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you start your fitness journey, you might find yourself losing momentum after a couple of months. This is what\u2019s commonly known as the \u201cfitness cliff\u201d: the point, about nine weeks in, when new members come to the gym 50 percent less than they did at the start of their journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reames says there are three reasons this may happen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019ve been going too hard and are physically worn out.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cYour workouts are monotonous and boring.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019re doing things you don\u2019t enjoy.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Our experts can help you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/30-day-plan\/\">create a balanced plan<\/a>, with workout variety that incorporates rest and recovery to help you avoid the fitness cliff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h2\">The importance of rest days<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People starting out or coming back to the gym after a long time away tend to work out too hard, too fast. Making time for rest and recovery will help you avoid injury and burnout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re at the gym, by all means use that time to work hard,\u201d Reames says. \u201cBut even professional athletes will tell you that recovery time is just as important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He recommends that a person who works out five or six days per week designate one day for a recovery workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, if you are doing high-intensity, training-level cardio workouts Sunday through Thursday, on Friday do a moderate treadmill workout or take a walk outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re still moving, but you\u2019re taking away that intensity, making it more soothing mentally and physically,\u201d Reames says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on your routine, other recovery options could be an easy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/stress-reliever-workout\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bodyweight workout<\/a>, a yoga class or stretching before and after your workouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also recommends taking one day a week \u201cto just chill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"h2\">Create workout variety<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A comprehensive fitness plan will focus on strength, cardio and flexibility. The 24 to 48 hours after a targeted workout, when the muscles recover, is when you see results, Reames says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure your muscles get that recovery time by following a plan with variety and targeted workout rotation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFocus one day on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/chest-progression-increase-strength-precision\/\">upper body<\/a>, the next on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/leg-progression-power-moves-muscle-growth\/\">lower body<\/a>, and the next on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/core-progression-build-stability-movement\/\">your core<\/a>,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf you focus on the same thing every day, you\u2019re not going to get great results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re also likely to get bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMixing it up will break the monotony,\u201d he says. \u201cThat helps you from getting mentally burned out.\u201d Do what you like, with people you like<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To stay dedicated to your goals and help avoid burnout, Reames says to \u201cpick something you like so you have something to look forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For a lot of people, that means joining a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/group-exercise-classes\/\">group exercise class<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/find-your-perfect-fitness-partner\/\">finding a gym buddy<\/a>&nbsp;to work out with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWorkout buddies are great motivators,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone has stuff come up. Life happens. Your pals are there to welcome you back and keep you going if you start to fall off track.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-family: Thread-00001f60-Id-00000084;\">See more health and fitness tips on our blog:<\/span><\/strong><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/30-day-plan\/\"><b>To See Results, Start With a 30-Day Plan<\/b><\/a><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/expect-next-group-exercise-classes\/\"><b>What to Expect in Your Next Group Exercise Classes<\/b><\/a><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/blog\/find-your-perfect-fitness-partner\/\"><b>Find Your Fitness Partner<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&lt;p&gt;Fitness is a journey, says Robert Reames, a Gold\u2019s Gym fitness expert. Pushing yourself to work hard in the gym is one half of the equation. The other half is learning the importance of rest days, recovery days and how to use them to pace yourself as you work toward your goals. \u201cYou\u2019re not going [&hellip;]&lt;\/p&gt;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":6364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_subtitle":"Our expert shares the top reasons people burn out at the gym and how to incorporate rest and recovery into your exercise routine to keep it from happening to you.","footnotes":""},"categories":[265],"tags":[130,120,201,202,79,118,88,92,171,151,203,95],"class_list":["post-3267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fit-tips","tag-bodyweight-workout","tag-build-muscle","tag-burnout","tag-cheat-day","tag-exercise","tag-guidance","tag-healthy-habits","tag-overall-health","tag-golds-personal-training","tag-recovery","tag-rest-day","tag-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3267"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9640,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3267\/revisions\/9640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goldsgym.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}