Want a Great Workout? It Might Be Best to Rest
By Saghir Aslam
Rawalpindi, Pakistan

(The following information is provided solely to educate the Muslim community about investing and financial planning. It is hoped that the ummah will benefit from this effort through greater financial empowerment, enabling the community to live securely with dignity and fulfill their religious and moral obligations towards charitable activities.)

Consistency, motivation and discipline - establishing a routine and sticking with it

Enough rest choosing when not to work out can be as important as the exercise itself. "Recovery is part of the process," "neglecting rest is just as bad as skipping out on a month's worth of training. “getting fit is a cycle of fatigue and repair. And as we adapt, our bodies become stronger, faster, and more powerful.

Why you need rest

Exercise causes microscopic tears in our muscle fibers, and as we rest, those fibers are repaired, adapting to become bigger and stronger. "It's during the fatigue phase, as the body recovers, that we adapt to the training.

Without adequate rest, the muscles don't have time to adapt, stalling progress and preventing improvement. But not all fatigue is the same, and neither is all recovery: "the process of recovery is longer," and may require a day or two. The quality of your sleep can score your readiness level, though accuracy varies.

Building rest into your routine

If you are exercising three or fewer times a week, you likely don't need more rest days. "if you want to get better at something, you need to be getting four or five days.

Your rest days should not be completely sedentary. "Recovery doesn't mean doing absolutely nothing. Low-impact cardio, like a light jog, a long walk, or a game like pickleball, has been shown to be very effective at promoting recovery.

Three days on, one day off, followed by two days on, one day off (then repeat). On his days off, he goes for long walks or does light cardio.

If you wake up feeling irritable or cranky, or if you suddenly find yourself reluctant to do a form of exercise you ordinarily love, it's probably time for a day off.

"Rest can be really hard"

For people who love working out, it can be tough to take a break. Rest can be really hard for some people: It can be hard to feel like you're doing enough. It takes a lot of patience.

Forcing yourself to take a rest day is critical to sustaining a long-term exercise habit.

Lastly, it's important to get to bed early enough before and after training. Sleep is probably the most powerful tool in our recovery tool kit.

(Saghir A. Aslam only explains strategies and formulas that he has been using. He is merely providing information, and no advice is given. Mr Aslam does not endorse or recommend any broker, brokerage firm, or any investment at all, or does he suggest that anyone will earn a profit when or if they purchase stocks, bonds or any other investments. All stocks or investment vehicles mentioned are for illustrative purposes only. Mr Aslam is not an attorney, accountant, real estate broker, stockbroker, investment advisor, or certified financial planner. Mr Aslam does not have anything for sale.)