14 DAY TRIAL // One of the biggest concerns over the holiday season is not only gaining a few extra pounds, but also cutting short a routine that we’ve already had some trouble settling into. We may have managed to make working out a part of our daily routine, but that’s not to say a break will only do us more harm, Times Online says after talking with specialists. In fact, a break is exactly what is recommended right now.
Most workout injuries, experts point out, result from too much zeal, if one may call it so. Because we’re starting to see the results we’ve been hoping for, we push our body past certain limits, which is when injuries appear. Moreover, by not allowing ourselves as little as a single day of rest, our body does not have the time it needs to recover, which, in turn, increases chances of injuries and decreases the efficiency of the workout.
Because of this, the holiday season is just the right time to allow ourselves some rest. “Rest and recovery are often overlooked, but are as important as exercise itself. Even elite athletes have one easy day a week to allow their bodies to recover from the stresses of training and to encourage the positive physiological changes, such as muscle growth, that are induced by hard workouts,” John Brewer, professor of sport at the University of Bedfordshire, says for the Times.
Not only is our body more prone to injuries if we don’t allow it the time it needs to recover, but in time, this also undermines the results of the workout, which become less and less visible. “You may improve in the short term, but each body part generally needs 24 hours to recover from hard exercise. If you have been lifting weights with your arms, for instance, it will take a full day for the tiny tears in muscle fibers to be repaired. Taking time out to let your body recover could save you weeks out through injury in the long run,” Prof. Brewer adds.
Still, taking a break doesn’t mean indulging in all the goodies that we usually find on our table at this time of the year. What it does mean, instead, is that we have to get some rest, understood traditionally as sleep. By getting enough sleep at night, we ensure that the restorative processes taking place in our body after longer periods of working out are successful.