Those hard dedicating training days during your martial arts training can be exhausting to the human body. Hard training days are good to push & test your limits. However, it is super important for every martial artist to take rest days.
After a couple of days of hard training, the body feels sore, which is a sign that you need a day or 2 to let yourself recover. The techniques you learn & train do make you stronger, but so does taking a couple of days off to rest.
Want to know the reasons why you need rest days from training martial arts? There are 5 of them, which I will be sharing with you to let you all know the importance of rest days.
1. Let The Muscles Recover
In any Martial Art you learn (Boxing, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, MMA, Wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, etc.) you are working every muscle in your body. Therefore, it’s essential to let the body rest.
Once the muscles in your body are replenished, you will feel refreshed as well as feeling a difference in how much stronger you become.
2. Refuel The Body
Of course, food is the biggest key to a martial artist’s recovery. You are burning numerous amount of calories during training. So, it’s essential to refuel your body with a good amount of nutrients to recover.
Men’s Health has mentioned the importance of getting your carbohydrates, fats, & proteins, which is the key to regain energy, muscle repair, & inflammation reduction.
Once you consume all the nutrients that you need to recover, you will see a difference in how you perform when going back to training.
3. To Avoid Injury
If you overtrain & still feel sore from practicing striking combos, or grappling-based training, there’s a high chance that you can get injured. This is why rest days are essential to people who train in martial arts because the body has its limits.
Research says if you don’t give yourself a break, your joints & muscles will undergo pain due to overuse. So overtraining is not a smart option! Injuries suck & nobody would want to be out of training for days, weeks, or even months.
4. Resetting The Mind
Taking a rest day is a way for everybody to reset the mind. Not only does your body need a break from training, but so does your mind. There’s a lot to learn in martial arts, which can be a lot of information to retain.
Therefore, on a rest day, a martial artist will have the opportunity to sit back & relax. Once the mind is fully reset, you will feel refreshed & ready to learn more once you get back into training.
5. To Be Able To Reflect On Your Skills
Reflecting on what you have learned during rest day is beneficial to your martial arts training. When you do this, you will have the opportunity to think about your strengths & weaknesses.
Once you discover that, you will go back into training making adjustments. Reflecting & readjusting is the key to improving your overall style of combat, & also your overall training mindset.
Conclusion
Rest days are essential for individuals who train in martial arts. If you’re overtraining & don’t give your body the rest it needs, you’re going to injure yourself. Your mind also needs a break since a couple of training sessions a week can be a lot for the brain to obtain.
So, the best thing to do is take your rest days to let both the body & mind recover. When everything feels 100%, you’ll notice a difference in how much better you feel in training.
If you have anymore questions about rest days for martial artists, please leave comment or send us a message.
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Hi there! I’m Austin, editor & owner of the Mixed Martial Arts Life or Lifestyle (MMAL) blog. Martial Arts have been one of my biggest passions for years & I have spent most of my life learning different types of disciplines. To find out more about my adventures & passion for martial arts, read all about it here on my blog.
