How Long Should You Rest Between Exercises?

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Did you know that rest can actually improve your physical performance? I’ve worked with many Olympic level athletes, and they would all agree that rest is just as important as exercise. Resting is when your muscles grow and recover. During a weight training exercise, the general rule of thumb is you need 48 hours for that muscle to recover. You should take a full day off of that muscle group after working it to fatigue. This also works for the cardiovascular system. You do not want to run at a race pace every day or you will wear your body out. You will need to give your body time to recover to increase your performance. This is also known as “tapering.” When you have a big race coming up, you want to build up your volume of energy leading up to the race, so you would taper your workouts. In general, I would recommend taking 12 days completely off of exercise during the week. Additionally, getting 8 hours of sleep every night is also essential to performing at your highest level. If you want to get more tips on increasing your athletic performance, you can visit my website at

*This content is strictly the opinion of Dr. Josh Axe, and is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Neither Dr. Axe nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement or lifestyle program.