YORK, Pa. — Once you've established a consistent workout routine, it's also important to remember that your body needs a break from intense sessions so it can recover. This is called active recovery, or active rest.
"You do need your rest days. That is important," said Heritage Hills Athletic Club Fitness Director Becky Gibney. "I do always say, take that rest day and maybe on a rest day you want to to go for a walk, just to get out of the house. But you don't have to do heavy, high-intensity workouts seven days a week."
If the weather agrees with you, head out and enjoy mother nature. The Keystone State boasts more than 12,000 miles of nature trails. If you'd rather stay in, yoga or meditation are also options.
"You really just have to quiet that mind," said Heritage Hills Athletic Club General Manager Matt Schaeffer. "You really just have to find that space. I love just sitting back and taking a break from the day."
if you're still trying to keep that routine of heading to the gym, feel free to go, but just take things lightly.
"I also on my off-days, as a member, I would come in here, I would maybe do some light cardio, I would maybe do some stretching, and that's kind of your active meditation, you could say," added Schaeffer.
Maybe your workout group is trying to maintain that schedule? It's recommended to see what other options are available to you at your fitness center.
"I would say switch it up," said Gibney. "If you're a group fitness person, it's never good to do the same class seven days a week. It's good to take a little yoga so that you're getting a little stretch. Take a little cardio. Take a little weight-lifting. Your body has muscle memory so we need to change those workouts up, which is why our group fitness schedule here has many different programs and they can just come in and take a variety of different programs."