Ways to use your rest intervals in your training

Read about rest intervals in your training!

Training effectively is a fine balance between action and rest. Exercise too much or not enough rest; you will reduce the results and harm your body. Exercise too little and rest too much; you will not see progress.

Training is of course the easy part – no, it really is; you know which exercises and how many repetitions are necessary as part of your training plan to reach your goals. But how do you actually rest?

The importance of rest days

Depending on your regimen and goals, you should give your the body sufficient time to heal between workouts. This means no exercise, eat right (don’t forget). the macros), hydration, sleep and resting your mind and body. While taking a day off may seem counterproductive to your goals, it’s essential for recovery so you can continue to perform. Otherwise, you will reduce results and potentially injure yourself.

How you choose to spend your rest days is up to you – as long as it involves rest. Enjoy a lazy movie day, watch some Netflix or your sport of choice on TV, fire up some video games, or play some slot machines online. These classic games are actually a fan favorite among New Zealanders at popular sites like Spin Casino (known for its huge range of games) and are great for putting the mind at ease as they require minimal brain power but offer a lot of light fun.

Maximize your rest periods

On training days, you need rest between sets. For optimal results, time your rest periods. Take no more than 30 seconds between each set to build muscle endurance. Why? Because excessive rest does not train the specific energy system (like the glycolytic) or type 1 muscle fibers you need to develop muscular endurance.

If you go for hypertrophy, your rest should be between 30 and 90 seconds. Alternatively, you can take 2-5 minutes between sets if your goal is strength or power.

These rest recommendations is based on the ideal recovery time to maintain performance and fine-tune adaptation stimuli such as microdamage and metabolic and mechanical stress. When optimized, these rest periods help you achieve maximum performance and results in the shortest amount of time (essentially training smarternot anymore).

Standing up

If collapsing on the floor isn’t your style, the next best thing is to stand up straight with your head held high while breathing deeply. This position lets you breathe deeply, slow your breathing, and get your body back in the game for the next set.

Depending on the training, a standing rest of 15-30 seconds is enough to rest and recharge, but for those who are less experienced (or need a bit longer – no shame in that), 30-60 seconds is fine.

Walks

Walking is the best option if your rest period is longer than one minute, e.g. 1-3 minutes. When the immediate fatigue after the last repetition wears off, slowly walk around the area to keep blood flowing to your muscles.

If you’re still gasping for breath, stand up straight and put your hands on your head – this position opens up your diaphragm to facilitate oxygen intake.

Gentle jog

During a long rest period (eg 5 minutes), a gentle, slow jog after catching your breath can help keep the blood flowing through the legs and the rest of the body. This process will help soften the blow for the next repetition.

Of course, the jog should not be too strenuous – gentle funds gentle. Ideally, it should be a slow mix, not a direct effort to run. The goal is preparation for the next iteration, not proving endurance or setting records.