Active rest days are low-intensity workout days that give your body a break from intense training while still keeping you moving. On active rest days, the goal is to flush blood and nutrients through the muscles to aid recovery without taxing the body too much. This helps prevent overtraining, fatigue, and burnout while optimizing gains from your hard workout days.
What are the benefits of active rest days?
Taking complete rest days can lead to strength and endurance losses, so active rest days help maintain fitness levels. Benefits of active rest days include:
- Promotes recovery – Light activity delivers nutrients and oxygen to muscles to repair damage from intense sessions.
- Prevents overtraining – Gives the body a break to recover and adapt to exercise.
- Maintains fitness – Keeps you moving to maintain cardiovascular endurance and muscle strength.
- Improves mindset – Provides mental reprieve from demanding workouts.
- Burns extra calories – Low-intensity exercise still burns some extra calories.
How often should you do active rest days?
The optimal frequency of active rest days depends on your training schedule and individual recovery needs. General guidelines include:
- 1-2 times per week for moderate programs (3-5 intense workouts weekly).
- 2-3 times per week for rigorous programs (5-6 intense workouts weekly).
- At least 1 rest day after high-volume resistance training to allow muscles to recover.
- 1-2 rest days after high-intensity interval training which causes more muscle damage.
Listen to your body and allow more active rest as needed when feeling excessively fatigued, sore, or mentally drained. It’s better to lose one intense workout than be forced to take a whole week off due to overtraining.
What activities should you do on an active rest day?
Choose light activities that keep you moving without overtaxing the body. Recommended active rest day workouts include:
Walking
Low-intensity steady walking is gentle on the muscles and cardiovascular system. Aim for 30-60 minutes at an easy, conversational pace.
Hiking
Hiking allows you to be in nature while keeping your heart rate low. Opt for relatively flat trails rather than big hills or rugged terrain.
Yoga
Gentle yoga flows, static holds, and deep breathing provide active recovery. Focus on relaxing the mind and body without intense poses.
Swimming
Low-intensity laps, water jogging, or pool exercises take pressure off your joints while still moving. Keep your heart rate down.
Cycling
Do an easy spin on flat terrain or a stationary bike. Stay in low gears and keep RPMs under control.
Light resistance training
Use lighter weights and higher reps, take longer rests, and reduce your number of sets. Emphasize technique rather than fatigue.
Mobility exercises
Improve flexibility and range of motion with foam rolling, stretching, and targeted mobility work.
Recreational sports
Have fun playing recreational games like volleyball, tennis, basketball or soccer at low intensities.
Active recovery workout ideas
Here are two sample active recovery day workout routines:
Option 1: Walking + yoga
- 5 minute warm up walk
- 30-45 min leisurely walk outside or on treadmill
- 5-10 minute yoga flow focusing on hip openers, chest openers, and gentle twists
- 10 minutes of supported restorative yoga poses
- 5 minute Savasana
Option 2: Pool workout
- 5 minute warm up swim
- 30 minutes varied set:
- 25m swim, 25m kick, 25m pull, 25m swim with paddles
- 1 minute treading water
- 15m Water jogging with buoy
- 5-10 minute core and balance exercises in shallow end
- 5 minute cool down swim
How to make the most of active rest days
Here are some tips to optimize the benefits of your active rest days:
- Go by feel – Don’t force it if your body is very fatigued. Light walking or extra rest may be better.
- Keep intensity low – Your heart rate and perceived exertion should be low. Use the “talk test”.
- Vary activities – Try different modalities like yoga, swimming, hiking to give muscles a new stimulus.
- Focus on technique – Perfect your form and movement patterns on exercises.
- Prioritize recovery – Use foam rolling, stretching, massage, and sleep.
- Enjoy yourself! – Have fun moving your body without the pressure of intense training.
Sample weekly training schedule with active rest days
Here is an example training plan that incorporates active rest to support hard training days:
| Day 1 | HITT workout – 30-60 sec high intensity intervals with bodyweight and plyometric exercises |
|---|---|
| Day 2 | Active rest – 30 min leisurely bike ride + light full body stretching |
| Day 3 | Lower body strength training – Back squats, deadlifts, lunges |
| Day 4 | Active rest – 45 min relaxed hiking trail + foam rolling |
| Day 5 | Upper body push strength – Bench press, shoulder press, push-ups |
| Day 6 | Active rest – 30 min easy swim + mobility exercises |
| Day 7 | Rest day – Take a full day off from training |
How to prevent overtraining with active rest
Here are some tips to avoid overtraining by using active rest strategically:
- Schedule 1-2 active rest days per week in your program
- Take at least one full rest day each week to allow complete recovery
- Listen to your body and take extra active rest days when needed
- Sleep 7-9 hours per night to recover
- Eat a balanced, nutrient-dense diet to fuel recovery
- Hydrate well by drinking plenty of water
- Use active rest days for light cardio, stretching, foam rolling
- Get sports massages regularly to aid muscle recovery
- Take occasional deload weeks with reduced volume/intensity
- Don’t ignore symptoms of overtraining like fatigue, performance declines, lack of motivation
Conclusion
Active rest days are a key component of an appropriately balanced training program. Light exercise on rest days promotes recovery by delivering nutrients to muscles without further fatiguing them. Active rest helps maintain fitness and prevent overtraining so you can continue making progress.Aim for 1-3 low-intensity active recovery sessions per week and be sure to listen to your body and adjust as needed. Use active rest days to do activities like walking, hiking, yoga, swimming, mobility exercises and light resistance training. With proper active rest, you’ll optimize your gains from intense training sessions.