Rest days can be mentally tormenting for bodybuilders or fierce aspirants who workout with ferocity and unparallel intensity. This is why most of the bodybuilders or hard gainers workout maximum days of the week. Experts have something diametrically opposite to say on this; these people believe that if you do not allow your body to relax in between trainings, your muscles would cry for relief and not recover. People who take rest notice better workout performance, faster muscle recovery, and bouts of energy every time they hit the session. Rest days are not meant for sleeping like 8 hours, eating whatever you want, or loitering around killing time. You must reap maximum benefits out of the relaxation times as well. But, the question is how and we have the answer. Read on:
Take up Low-Impact Exercises
Low-Impact exercises put less strain on your muscles and do not put joints on heavy-duty work. During rest days, you must do some kind of low-impact exercise, such as brisk walking, swimming, or bike riding. Following that, you must to do stretching as this would release trapped lactic acid, give a massage to your muscles, and help with cramps from previous training sessions. The key is prevent your body going in an absolute safe zone, instead do mild exercises and relax with some stretching exercises or yoga. It would be best to call your rest days as Active Rest Day.
Stick to Your Supplementation
Consuming protein supplement is one of the important parts of a bodybuilder’s daily life. People often think that supplements are only for gym days and therefore a majority drinks it depending upon its nomenclature; post or pre workout blend. Supplements containing Whey and its variants, BCAAs, and caffeine can actually benefit you on rest days by providing energy at the cellular level. The amino acids in the health blend aids in protein synthesis and thereby helping muscles to grow and recover faster. Further, on rest days, drinking supplements shall help you attain the recommended dose of proteins in your diet and feel full for long. Thermogenics especially works on flab on or off gym days and aids in muscle build-up.
Get a Massage
A good body massage post-workout induces sleep and releases stress off your body but many people fail to consider the trick on rest days. You have to be smart if you want to achieve big gains. The antidote is to head out to a spa or a massage and get a full body relaxing massage or if you have spot pain areas then the experts shall fix them as per your wish. Many aspiring bodybuilders fail to understand the importance of a good massage and thereby experience uncalled muscle pain for an extended time period. On a rest day, you can give extra TLC to your muscle or harmed tissue with this trick. External care plays a pivotal role in fostering faster recovery and rejuvenated cellular structure.
Sleep Your Way to Health
Sleep is an amazing biological process that relaxes every single point of your aching tired body. Speaking of relaxation, your sleep should be at least of 8 hours a day for this number is considered as ideal and recommended. A hormone called melatonin induces the natural sleep patterns and you must respond to the natural calls. Sleeping on rest days offers a relaxing experience and aids in muscle recovery. What better a rest day can be where you can let your mind de-stress and muscles recover? If you face hard time sleeping at night, make a habit of staying awake during afternoons or if you plan for a nap then keep it short. Moreover, have a glass of milk before you hit the sack because milk surges flow of melatonin. Lastly, do not touch your phone or laptop before bed time as UV light coming out from screens can depreciate the melatonin levels in your body.
Hydrate as Much as You Can
You sweat a lot during and after training sessions and which is why your fluid intake goes up a notch than normal days. Additionally, you drink a glass or two extra in order to compensate for lost sodium and water because of sweat. However, many of you forget to drink enough water or fresh organic juices on rest days because your body does not crave for it. However, you must develop a habit of drinking water or juicy beverages throughout the day. Water or a high fluid intake enables effective transportation of nutrients to every single part of your body. Moreover, oxygen supply to your brain is also enabled by this virtue. If you dislike drinking water all the times, then flavour it up with fruits or lemon and this is how you make detox water. Another thing you can do is to replace water with Milk or Kefir while preparing your protein supplement shake.
Make your rest days as Active Rest days by incorporating best of habits and some rituals that you do not do on busy gym days. Stay healthy.
