Getting in a good workout is important for your health and fitness goals. However, rest and recovery are just as crucial as the workout itself. When you exercise, you’re putting strain and stress on your muscles, which causes small microtears. It’s during rest that your body is able to repair these microtears and get stronger. Without adequate rest between workouts, you risk overtraining, injury, fatigue and burnout. So how much rest do you need between workout sessions? Let’s take a closer look.
What happens when you work out
During exercise, your muscles and cardiovascular system go through a process called exercise-induced muscle damage and stress. This causes tiny tears and damage to the muscle fibers. Your body triggers inflammation as a normal part of the healing response. The inflammation attracts immune cells to repair and remodel the muscles. With proper rest, the muscles heal stronger than before.
Here are some of the changes and processes that occur during and after exercise:
- Breakdown of muscle protein: Exercise triggers increased protein breakdown to fuel the workout.
- Microtears in muscle fibers: The stress and mechanical strain causes small microtears in the muscle fibers.
- Muscle fatigue: The muscles lose their ability to contract optimally due to exhaustion of fuel stores and buildup of metabolic byproducts.
- Swelling and inflammation: Damaged tissues become inflamed which triggers immune cells to rush in for repairs.
- Muscle growth: After the repair process, the muscles adapt and get bigger and stronger to better handle the stress next time.
- Soreness: Post-workout soreness peaks 24-48 hours after the workout due to the muscle damage and inflammation.
So in the hours and days after an intense training session, your body is working hard to rebuild itself back up.
How long does it take muscles to recover after a workout?
Complete recovery takes anywhere from 24 hours up to 72 hours after exercise depending on the duration and intensity of your workout. Here’s a general timeline:
- 0-30 minutes after: Heart rate and breathing rate start to return to normal. Fuel stores (glycogen) are depleted. Muscles fatigue.
- 1-3 hours after: Muscle soreness starts to set in. Inflammation increases.
- 24-48 hours after: Muscle soreness peaks. Muscle protein synthesis is elevated to repair damaged muscle fibers.
- 48-72 hours after: Soreness starts to resolve. Muscles regrow and adapt by getting bigger and stronger.
Recovery timeline by workout intensity
The more intense the workout, the longer recovery takes. Here’s a comparison:
| Workout Intensity | Recovery Time |
|---|---|
| Low (walking, cardio under 30 mins) | 24-36 hours |
| Moderate (weight training, HIIT under 45 mins) | 36-48 hours |
| High (marathons, intense weight training over 1 hour) | 48-72+ hours |
As you can see, the harder you train, the more recovery your body needs before hitting the gym again. Be extra attentive about rest days after very strenuous workouts.
Tips for proper post-workout recovery
Here are some tips to help your body recover optimally after a tough workout:
Replenish with post-workout nutrition
Eating a mix of carbs and protein within 30-60 minutes after training helps kickstart the recovery process by:
- Replenishing glycogen stores
- Providing amino acids to repair damaged muscle proteins
- Boosting muscle protein synthesis
- Reducing muscle breakdown
Aim for a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein. Good options include chocolate milk, meal replacement shakes, Greek yogurt with berries, eggs with toast, or whole grain crackers with hummus.
Refuel all day
Continue eating high quality carbs, proteins and anti-inflammatory foods throughout the day:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Lean proteins like chicken, fish, tofu or beans
- Whole grains like oats, quinoa, brown rice or whole wheat bread
- Nuts and seeds
- Healthy fats from oils, avocados, nut butters
Stay hydrated
Drink plenty of water and electrolyte drinks like coconut water or sports drinks. Proper hydration helps:
- Deliver nutrients to muscles
- Clear out metabolic waste products
- Reduce inflammation
Aim for 11-16 cups of fluid per day.
Get plenty of sleep
Quality sleep helps the body repair and recover. Aim for 7-9 hours per night to allow proper muscle remodeling and rebuilding.
Give your muscles a massage
Massages improve blood flow to the muscles to enhance nutrient delivery and waste product removal. Massages also help soothe sore muscles.
Take easy active recovery workouts
Low intensity exercise like walking, biking or swimming can help pump blood and nutrients through the muscles to speed recovery. Just don’t overdo it.
Take recovery supplements
Supplements like protein powder, creatine, omega-3s and anti-inflammatories may help the muscle healing and repair process.
Signs you need more recovery time
Make sure you’re allowing enough recovery between workouts. Here are some red flags that you need more rest:
- Persistant muscle soreness
- Decreased performance during workouts
- Inability to lift as much weight as before
- Elevated resting heart rate
- Fatigue, low energy, lack of motivation
- Trouble sleeping
- Loss of appetite, weight loss
- Moodiness, irritability, depression
If you notice these warning signs, take a break and allow your body more time to rest and adapt. You may need to switch up your training schedule to include more rest days.
How much time should you take off between workouts?
As a general rule, aim for at least 1-2 rest days between strength training the same major muscle groups. For example:
- Strength training: Every other day
- High intensity interval training: Every 2-3 days
- Body part split training: 1-2 days of rest between working the same body part
- Running/cardio: 1-2 easy recovery days between hard efforts
You can do light active recovery on your off days like walking, stretching or foam rolling.
Also take into account factors like age, fitness level, workout intensity, nutrition and stress. The above are general recommendations, but it’s important to listen to your body’s needs.
As a beginner, you may need 2-3 full rest days between resistance training sessions to allow your body to adapt. More advanced lifters can handle more frequent training.
How to create an exercise recovery routine
Here are some tips for designing a workout routine that allows proper recovery time:
- Aim for 1-2 days off after intense training of the same muscle group
- Vary your training so you’re not overworking the same movement patterns
- Ensure to take at least one full rest day with no exercise per week
- Schedule recovery techniques like massage, foam rolling, ice baths
- Listen to your body and take extra rest days as needed
- Take easy active recovery days with light cardio or mobility work
- Manage your workload, sleep and stress
- Slowly increase workout frequency and intensity over time
Consistency with training is important. But recovery allows your body to consolidate those gains so you can continue building strength, speed and endurance over time.
Conclusion
Recovery is just as important as the workout itself when it comes to results. Allowing your body adequate rest between training sessions gives your muscles time to repair, rebuild and come back stronger. Use the above guidelines on workout recovery time, nutrition strategies and listening to your body’s needs. Be patient and focus on the long game by properly balancing training and rest. This will help you maximize gains while avoiding fatigue, injury and burnout.