What to eat on rest days: 6 easy tips for maximum recovery (2023)

FAQs

Should I eat a lot on rest days? ›

Although intuitively you might think you don't need as much food on your rest days, it's important to eat as you normally would between workouts to replenish your glycogen stores for energy, promote muscle recovery and growth, and support your body's essential daily functions.

Generally speaking, the recommended amount of protein consumption on rest days is between 0.3 – 0.7 grams per pound of body weight or 15 – 25% of total daily calories. For example, a 130-pound woman who consumes 2000 calories per day should aim to consume approximately 156 grams of protein on her rest days.

Protein is essential for supporting muscle recovery on rest days. It's important to consume high-quality protein sources on non-workout days to optimize recovery. One high-quality protein source to include on both active and rest days is protein shakes.

Protein. “All tissue needed to heal your wounds comes from the protein in your diet,” he says. “Protein helps build and maintain muscle, produce new tissue for healing, and helps support the immune system to reduce risk of infection. Try and eat foods with protein at each meal and with each snack.”

On rest days, you don't need to focus as much on meal- and snack-timing since there are no pre-workout, intra-workout, or post-workout considerations. Just ensure you're eating every 3-4 hours to supply the body with adequate energy and recovery nutrients.

Rest One or Two Days Per Week. For the best performance and to reach your goals in the safest and most effective way possible, plan for one to two rest days per week. Olenick recommended spacing these out — take one rest day mid-week and the other on the weekend, or in between bigger workouts.

“On training days, an athlete typically expends more energy through physical activity,” McIntyre says. “On rest days, however, they may still have a high metabolic rate due to the body's need to repair and rebuild muscle tissue, which can increase hunger levels.”

It is okay to drink protein shakes everyday, however it's important to remember that they are a dietary supplement and should not be used to replace food.

Do protein shakes help recovery? ›

A recent, small scale study concludes that protein shakes, compared with high carbohydrate drinks, do not reduce muscle pain or speed up muscle recovery after a workout.

General recommendations are to consume 15–30 grams of protein at each meal. Studies show higher intakes — those more than 40 grams — in one sitting are no more beneficial than the recommended 15–30 grams at one time. Don't waste your money on excessive amounts.

“Avoid strenuous activities which would put more stress on the body. Rest days can consist of normal activities such as walking, light cardio, etc. since they do not stress the muscles that need the most rest. These activities also help lactic acid to move out of the muscles,” Debra said.

“It takes 24-48 hours for the bulk of recovery to occur after a challenging workout, so it's important on a rest day to consume enough carbohydrates to use as energy to recover, enough quality fats to bring inflammation down and support the heart and joints, and enough protein to repair body tissues,” she says.

Rest days allow the muscles to replenish their glycogen stores, thereby reducing muscle fatigue and preparing the muscles for their next workout. Preventing injury: Overexercising puts repetitive stress and strain on the muscles, increasing the risk of injury.

In effect, yes. As you exercise, your aerobic fitness improves, allowing your body to meet the demands of increasingly difficult workouts. These same aerobic adaptations also teach your muscles to repair themselves faster; the fitter you are, the sooner you recover.

What speeds up tissue repair? ›

Wounds heal faster if they are kept warm. Try to be quick when changing dressings. Exposing a wound to the open air can drop its temperature and may slow healing for a few hours. Don't use antiseptic creams, washes or sprays on a chronic wound.

Tissue repair and regeneration within the body are influenced by vitamin C. A critical role of vitamin C is the synthesis of connective tissue, particularly collagen [1]. It also provides tensile strength to new collagen formed which would otherwise be unable to stretch without tearing [1].

Getting proper rest is easily one of the most effective ways to recover from any form or degree of physical exertion. Sleep allows your body to repair its muscle tissue. Hormones, such as human growth hormone and testosterone, increase during sleep, which helps you perform even better the next day.

Casein is a slow-digesting protein that is beneficial for your muscles and helps them grow and recover. On the other hand, whey is a bodybuilding protein that helps gain muscle mass and burn fat. Casein is a slow-digesting protein that is beneficial for your muscles and helps them grow and recover.

Cherries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, cranberries and strawberries all contain anthocyanins, an inflammation reducing compound. Berries not only help reduce inflammation but they contain many nutrients which help prevent diseases.

Having enough available glycogen in your muscles is essential for optimal athletic performance, so it's important to replenish these stores after workouts. This is especially true for athletes participating in exhaustive exercise ( 31 ). Eating carb-rich foods promotes muscle glycogen replenishment.

As much as you might think your rest day would be the perfect opportunity to take the edge off with a drink, alcohol is no good for recovery.

The doctors say that incorporating protein supplements in your diet with no workout at all is not recommended. “If you go overboard, you may end up gaining weight — especially if you have a sedentary lifestyle.

Contrary to popular belief, your muscles grow in the rest period between sessions, which may give you an incentive to take more rest days between workouts (if preventing injury isn't good enough for you!).

Should I exercise when I'm tired? ›

One night of poor sleep shouldn't have to impact your workout routine, but chronic sleep deprivation leading to multiple days of exhaustion is another matter, experts say. It may not be wise to hit the gym or play a sport when you're barely putting one foot in front of the other, said sleep specialist Dr.

If they want weight loss along with muscle growth, reducing calories on rest days can help. The body does still needs nutrients to aid in recovery. As long as these needs are met, calories can be lowered slightly.

Some people skip meals when they're trying to lose weight, which is often counterproductive, as waiting too long between meals may lead to overeating. As such, it's important to eat when you're hungry — not wait until you're ravenous.

To be clear, there is no hard-and-fast rule about drinking protein shakes, and having too many of them in one day likely won't have any long-term detrimental effects. For most people, anywhere from one to three protein shakes per day should be plenty to help them meet their nutritional needs.

There can be health consequences if you drink protein shakes without exercising are: (1) less muscle gain, (2) unwanted weight gain, (3) increased risk of kidney-related problems, and (4) abnormal spike in blood glucose level.

Peanut butter is rich in heart-healthy fats and is a good source of protein, which can be helpful for vegetarians looking to include more protein in their diets. A 2-tablespoon serving of peanut butter contains up to 8 grams of protein and 2 to 3 grams of fiber.

Helps Your Body Repair Itself After Injury

Numerous studies demonstrate that eating more protein after injury can help speed up recovery ( 36 , 37 ). more protein can help you recover faster if you've been injured.

Soreness seems to be an indicator of the muscle breakdown that occurs during and after exercise, so feeling that pain all the time could mean you're not getting the protein your muscles need to rebuild.

Is 100g of protein at once too much? ›

You can eat as much protein as you want in one sitting. There is a limit in how fast your body can absorb protein, but any excess protein will simply reside in your gut.

“Yes, there is such a thing as too much protein,” Nicholas says. “The general consensus is that two grams per kilogram of body weight is the upper limit for most adult males.” So, if you weigh 185 pounds, you shouldn't be eating more than 168 grams of protein per day.

“On training days, an athlete typically expends more energy through physical activity,” McIntyre says. “On rest days, however, they may still have a high metabolic rate due to the body's need to repair and rebuild muscle tissue, which can increase hunger levels.”

"Strength training makes you the most susceptible to a larger appetite on rest days because your metabolic rate is increased for about 36 hours after the activity as your body is trying to recuperate the strained muscles," says Goldsmith.

This means that, at rest, he'll burn approximately 1,769 calories in a day (Equation: (9.99 × 81.6 kg) + (6.25 × 183) – (4.92 × 40) + 5 = 1,767). For females, use the following equation: 9.99 × weight + 6.25 × height – 4.92 × age – 161= RMR for females.

The Answer? Rest One or Two Days Per Week. For the best performance and to reach your goals in the safest and most effective way possible, plan for one to two rest days per week. Olenick recommended spacing these out — take one rest day mid-week and the other on the weekend, or in between bigger workouts.

If they want weight loss along with muscle growth, reducing calories on rest days can help. The body does still needs nutrients to aid in recovery. As long as these needs are met, calories can be lowered slightly.

That's due to your muscle fibers starting to dwindle and your body retaining some extra fluids. But for the most part, you're not feeling too bad. If you head back to the gym now, you probably won't even notice any significant changes in how fast you can run or how much you can lift.

If you allow your body a week of full rest, the hormones return to normal levels, and fat loss will begin to take place once again. When I was on a fat loss program, I often would lose fat in my rest week, even while eating my maintenance level of calories!

Is it possible to eat too much in recovery? ›

Binge eating may occur during recovery from anorexia. However, with a moderation approach that embraces incorporating all foods into a regular meal plan, the likelihood of engaging in new or different eating disorder behaviors during the recovery process decreases significantly.

If you drink your usual amount but do not sweat it out, the fluid gets stored as water weight. This minimal amount of excess weight can make you feel heavier, and your muscles may not respond as well as they normally do because they've had an extra day off, but weight gain in the form of excess fat is still unlikely.

Example: If you exercise more to burn an extra 500 calories each day, you'll lose about one pound of fat in a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). You can workout more or just add more movement into your daily lifestyle.

02/9Calories burned by 10,000 steps

Most people burn around 30-40 calories per 1,000 steps, which means they will burn around 300-400 calories by walking 10,000 steps.