Rest and Soreness

Any fitness expert will tell you that it's a good idea to take a day to rest every so often. The frequency of rest days varies depending on who you ask. Just remember any day you workout that you normally wouldn't have is a step in the right direction. However, most fitness novices and gurus alike will tell you you should workout at least 3 days a week. How often you workout and how often you rest is dictated by what you are training for. Professional athletes can train on a daily basis only resting a couple times a month, where as those how are just getting into a fitness program may need to rest a few days a week.

The best idea that I have found is to have planned rest days. This helps push you through those days that your are sore and don't feel like working out, because believe it or not, doing another light workout when you are sore actually helps move the built up lactic acid (that's causing the soreness) through your body. I've found that if I rest on a day I feel "too sore" to workout I end up only feeling more soreness by the end of the day. Make sure you drink lots of water every day not only to keep your body healthy in general but it also helps to flush out the lactic acid as well!

Know the difference between feeling sore and being hurt. It's one thing to push yourself through the pain when you are feeling sore, it's another to push yourself through the pain when you are actually hurt. If the pain you are feeling is from a pulled muscle or it feels like it's something more than just a soreness from working a muscle that hasn't been used in a while. Then its a good idea to rest. Pay attention to your body. Some say that pain is weakness leaving the body, but sometimes pain is your body trying to tell you there's something wrong.