Do you work out every day with no scheduled off days?
Take one day off per week to allow the body to make adaptations. If you carry too much fatigue into the following week, you risk negatively impacting your performance. Do this over the course of months and you risk burnout and potentially injury.
Does it matter which day to take off? Yes — take a day off after a low-intensity workout day. If you have a high-intensity workout, follow it with a low-intensity workout; the low-intensity work helps with lactic acid and reduces soreness. If you have nothing but high-intensity workouts, then a proper cool-down after each is required to reduce soreness: a five-minute jog after the workout followed by some stretches of the muscle groups you used. Why? It reduces muscle soreness while maintaining mobility.
Endurance Athlete?
Do you take recovery weeks after each training block? It is recommended to reduce training volume every 2–3 weeks.
- New to endurance training, or a heavy training block: take a recovery week after every 2 weeks of training.
- Experienced endurance athlete, or a light training block: take a recovery week after every 3 weeks of training.
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