Rest vs Recovery

Since most people work out 2 to 3 days a week the other 5 or 4 days are off days where working out is not a focus. Those off days can be rest or recovery days. Note! There is a difference between a rest day and a recovery day and I will explain that difference.

Rest Day
A rest day is a day you take to do nothing. This is when you can go about your day and just do whatever without having to worry about when you can fit a workout session in. These are very important to have every once in a while especially after you have trained really hard. You'll know you need a rest day when you find that you feel worn out or if you feel like you have to really force yourself to do your workout. You will likely feel worn out after a really hard strength training session of after a particularly draining cardio session or even a really stressful day at work. It really doesn't matter what you did the day before, if you feel worn out then take a rest day.

Recovery Day
I favor recovery days over rest days. A recovery day is similar to a rest day in that you are still allowing your body to rest by skipping a workout but they differ in that instead of entirely skipping physical activity you still try to get some low intensity movement in. On this day you may try cross training, some light cardio, or anything that doesn't work you too hard. Cross training is only really relevant if you typically do one type of exercise often, to cross train you would do something different from your usual. For example, I usually run for my cardio days or for times when I'm doing intense cardio so my cross training is something that isn't running. I can ride my bike, or take a long slow walk, or swim, anything really as long as it isn't running. My rule of thumb for a recovery day is to do 30 minutes of something.

6 Things to Remember
Whether you are working out or it's one of your off days from working out there are still somethings you need to keep in mind to keep your body in the best condition possible.

1. Eating right is part of everyday. If you decide you're going to sit on the couch all day that's fine but you need to still be eating the right foods. Hit all the big categories, grains, fruit, veggies, some meat, and dairy. Your rest or recovery day doesn't mean you also get to stuff yourself with junk food, that is counterproductive.
2. Get enough sleep. Staying up until 3 am is fine every once in a while but it shouldn't be a regular thing. Getting enough sleep is important for general human function and is the ultimate recovery time. No matter what you do during the day when you sleep you do nothing but relax and recover. Sleeping too little can cause some serious health problems so make sure to get a good nights sleep most of the time.
3. Don't overtrain. If you've read my about me I say that I workout just about everyday. That is true but I know myself well enough that if I'm beat I'll do a low intensity workout or I'll rest. Overtraining leaves very little time for your muscles to regenerate and recover from the strain of a workout. It is especially important not to overtrain if you are just starting out, it will make you feel terrible. You can train a lot but be careful to take rest when you need it.
4. Listen to your body. Competition is in human nature. It's understandable that you may want to be as good as that person at the gym who people say is there everyday and runs 8 miles before and after their workout. Be competitive but don't let it get in the way of how you treat your body. Just because your workout buddy runs every morning for 30 minutes and still has enough energy for a heavy weight training session with you doesn't mean you can or should be able to do the same thing. People are different running for 30 minutes might be an entire workout for you, if it is then rest. Most times no one will hold that against you.
5. Replace lost fluids. After a workout or even a really hot day you need to make sure you replace fluids that you have lost due to sweat. Water is one of the best things to drink before during and after a workout. Workouts are more effective if you get protein before and after so getting a decent protein shake is a good idea. You can drink Gatorade or stuff like it if you want but it is really only useful for high performance athletes, the average person doesn't workout enough to drink that. Honestly though whatever you decide try to keep hydrated and get in some good protein and carbs in your pre/post workout drink of choice.
6. Stretch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, stretching is really important to have good strong muscles that are less prone to injury. If you need some help figuring out what to do then check out my Flexible muscles are strong muscles post. Just don't skip out on stretching!

That's about it for this post. I hope this helps you learn to take a break once in a while. Without any rest you will see very little improvement in your body. Resting is when the magic happens so work hard and rest hard as well!