Do I need a rest day?
You need recovery, which is not quite the same as a day on the couch. Muscle is built between sessions, not during them, so hard efforts on the same muscles need about 48 hours between them.
Rest days work best as easy days: a walk, gentle stretching, light housework. That keeps blood moving through recovering muscle and usually eases soreness faster than total stillness.
One or two easy days a week is right for most people. If you feel run down, sleep worse, or carry aches that never clear, take an extra one; if you never feel any of that, your easy days are doing their job.
Source: World Health Organization, physical activity fact sheet
See a doctor promptly if
- Unintentional weight loss with visible muscle loss, or new difficulty rising from a chair or climbing stairs
- Swelling of the legs or face with frothy urine. This needs kidney assessment before changing diet
- Known chronic kidney disease or liver disease. Do not increase protein without medical advice
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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