Is a Day of Rest Important?

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Absolutely, yes!! During a workout, we create tiny tears in our muscles. When we rest, it lets the muscle tissue repair itself. Over time, this creates stronger muscle, you get more definition and look leaner and you will burn more fat. You don't want to overtrain your muscles because it will actually break down and burn muscle from intense exercise. It will only set you back to work out the same muscle group more than one day in a row. You can stagger your exercises to give your mucles time to heal, ex.: Day 1 - work out your abs and arms, Day 2 - work out back and legs, Day 3 -  work out shoulders and glutes - Day 4 - either rest or now would be a good time to work on abs and arms again.

Still wanting to do something to burn calories on your rest day? Cardio is not as likely to burn muscle when done every day, as long as you don't overdo it. It's good for you to get 15 minutes and no more than 30 minutes of cardio each day. Cardio is great for in between workout days! My favorite way to get cardio in is my elliptical workout!! It kicks my butt, and I feel so tough when I complete my 20 minutes!! Other great ways to get your cardio in are going for a jog, jump rope, treadmill, exercise bike, stair climber, running up the bleachers or around a track, sprinting uphill, and more.

You earn your rest days!! Enjoy them!! It's good to give yourself 1 to 2 rest days a week, if you need to, take a third rest day. Just stagger your days to be sure you give each group of muscles a nice, intense workout to see results sooner. Remember, in order to lose weight , you need to use more calories than you consume. I plan my rest days for a day that I know I have a lot of running around to do, or on a day that I want to get all my housework done. On rest days, I am also careful not to take in extra calories or carbs. It may surprise you, but cleaning house you will actually burn calories!! I do pretty much everything on my toes, and dancing - which will also burn calories.

Here are a few more ways you naturally burn calories that may surprise you:

Sleeping 8 hours can burn 400 calories!
Deep cleaning your car (inside & out) taking 2 hours can burn 500 calories, or more if you wax your vehicle!
Mowing the lawn for 30 min can burn 100 calories, and more if you have a push mower! Raking for 20 minutes, 70 calories!
Dusting for 30 minutes can burn 80 calories; mopping 15 minutes, 70 calories & more if you mop vigorously; vacuuming 30 min, 120 calories, and ironing 30 min, 75 calories! Doing dishes can burn 40 calories every 15 minutes of scrubbing!
Kissing for 30 minutes can burn 30 calories, while 30 min of sex can burn 150 calories!
Shopping, pushing a cart for an hour can burn 100 calories every 30 min!
Preparing food can burn 70 calories, if you dance or do calf raises you can burn an extra 25 - 35 calories! Eating your meal can burn 50 calories!

Don't be afraid to let your body rest. Your body will burn calories on your rest days.