The Four Types of Rest You Need
We all know we need to rest, but what sort of rest? For how long? Does it all do the same thing?
When it comes to your training there are 4 different types of rest you need, and they do slightly different things…
Rest Between Sets
When we train in sets, we split our work out into manageable ‘chunks’ with our work punctuated by rest. Depending on what we are training we need slightly different amounts of rest to adequately recover (this is because we use different energy systems, but that’s for another blog).
Strength & Power: Think high weight, low reps (1-5). The best rest period for strength and power exercises 2-5 minutes is best. Skills like handstands can fall into this too, with 2-3 attempts between 2-5 minute breaks!
Hypertrophy: This is when we’re growing muscle, medium weight, medium reps (8-12), and really feeling the burn. Even though we’re feeling the burn we only want 30-90 seconds rest here!
Muscular endurance: Lowest weight, highest rep, and working aerobically to fuel our exercise. Think steady-state cardio and exercises with 15+ reps. When we’re training in this zone we need approximately 30s to recover.
Rest Between Workouts
When we train we stress our bodies, and they need time to recover. Our growth and adaptation happens between our workouts, so this is an integral step!
Depending on the type of workout you will need different breaks between training sessions - generally, the more intense your training the more rest you need between training that muscle group/skill/sport.
The FITT principle is good for giving you a guide, if the intensity, time, or type are particularly high you’re going to need a lower frequency of that type of training.
Frequency - How often you train X
Intensity - How hard you train X
Time - How long you train X for
Type - Are you doing something crazy (e.g. pole fitness) or something lighter (walking)
If you’re doing something really intense you may only need to do it once a week for the optimal level of growth - that’s OK!
Deload Weeks
Deload weeks are a week of lower intensity, active recovery. Depending on how our body responds, we can either stop our usual activities altogether in favour of walking and other light exercise, or we can use the FITT principle to have a lighter than usual week.
This is part of a balanced, and periodised training programme, and scheduling a deload week every 4-6 weeks can help you avoid overuse injuries, plateaus, and overtraining.
Sleep
Adults need roughly 7-9 hours of sleep each night. With each sleep cycle, our bodies are flooded with hormones that help us recover and adapt to our training stresses. If you’re seeing plateaus in your training, struggling with injury, or just not feeling your best, check if you’re getting enough sleep!
Sleep is so important, that I’d prioritise sleep over training if needed!
Are you getting the rest you need to reach your fitness and mindset goals?
If you feel anxious about resting, feel free to join us in The Orchard - my monthly membership that’s all about your fitness strategy - and you’ll get access to resources to help you embrace a balanced approach to your training!
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