Respecting your Rest Days: Taking a Break Deserves as Much Intention as Training Hard

When was your last rest day this week? No, really—when did you last take a full day off from training? And not just a passive “I didn’t go to the gym” kind of day, but a true intentional rest day where you gave your body time to reset, your nervous system time to breathe, and your mind space to reflect. It’s a question that often gets overlooked, especially in the world of CrossFit, functional fitness, and performance-driven training were showing up, grinding, and chasing the next PR feels like a badge of honor. New clients often ask, “How many days a week should I train?”—a totally fair and necessary question. But what’s just as important, and often missing from that conversation, is: “How often should I not train?” Does the answer change depending on whether you’re a beginner, an advanced athlete, or someone aiming to compete? Absolutely—but the principle remains the same: recovery is not optional.

When I started attacking my training more intentionally—especially after diving into methodologies like The Professor Project—I discovered that double sessions worked well for me. Mornings became my time to drill strength and mechanics. Evenings were for conditioning, pacing, and intensity work. It fit perfectly with my role as a coach in a gym, allowing me to train alongside my career development and identify areas I needed to grow. It gave me more reps, more exposure, more experience. But here’s the thing I had to learn the hard way: stacking more training doesn’t automatically equal more results. In fact, when I ignored my rest days—or turned every “active recovery” into a secret Metcon—it started working against me. I felt sluggish. Sore more often. Less motivated. My performance plateaued. I learned that training is only as effective as your ability to recover from it.

That’s where the conversation around intentional recovery matters. Not everyone needs double sessions. Not everyone needs five or six training days per week. But everyone—from the beginner who just picked up their first barbell to the elite athlete trying to qualify for a major competition—needs recovery. The form it takes might differ: full rest days, low-intensity movement, mobility and breathing work, even walks or light swimming. But ignoring recovery altogether and training hard every single day without variation? That’s a recipe for burnout, injury, and frustration. There’s a reason your muscles grow not during the lift, but after it. The stress creates the signal, but the recovery is where the adaptation happens. Without rest, you’re just accumulating stress without progress.

Now as a coach—not yet a gym owner, but someone who’s striving to lead, support, and grow within this space—I find myself reflecting on what kind of culture I want to help build. I want to be the kind of coach that encourages consistency, sure—but also clarity. I want the athletes I coach to feel empowered not just to show up, but to understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. To know when to push the gas pedal and when to take their foot off it. To realize that discipline isn’t just about never missing a workout—it’s about knowing your own limits and respecting them.

And I get it—rest days can feel hard to justify, especially for the athlete who’s chasing goals, or the person who uses training as their outlet and stress relief. I’ve seen members who feel guilty for missing a day, or who get anxious thinking they’re losing progress if they don’t sweat seven days a week. But here’s the thing I keep reminding my athletes (and myself): more isn't always better. Better is better. Quality work, with quality recovery, leads to long-term results. And most importantly, it leads to sustainable results. You don’t want to just be fit for a few months—you want to build a body and a mindset that lasts for years.

Let’s go even deeper—because rest isn’t just about physical repair. It’s mental, emotional, and psychological too. The longer you stay in the grind without a pause, the more you start to blur the line between discipline and depletion. Burnout doesn’t show up all at once—it creeps in quietly. It might start with a drop in motivation, a feeling of dread before workouts you used to enjoy, or a sense of going through the motions without fire. Maybe it’s the constant tightness in your lower back, the nagging shoulder discomfort you’ve been pushing through, or the fact that your lifts haven’t budged in months despite your effort. That’s your body sending you a signal. And yet so many athletes—especially the high achievers—choose to ignore it in favor of the “just keep pushing” mindset. But the truth? Real toughness is knowing when to pull back. Real maturity in training comes when you stop asking, “How much more can I do?” and start asking, “What do I need most right now to move forward?”

This is where understanding the training-recovery-adaptation cycle becomes crucial. Every hard session creates stress. Every rest day facilitates adaptation. Skip that recovery? You’re just stacking more and more stress with no payoff. It’s like trying to build a house without letting the foundation cure. Over time, the structure becomes shaky. The same goes for our bodies and minds. It’s not just about fatigue management—it’s about performance longevity. Think of rest as your ROI. You’ve already invested energy, time, focus, and reps—rest is what allows those investments to grow. It’s the deposit where your body says, “Okay, now I’ll rebuild stronger, faster, more efficient.” Without that deposit, you’re just running on empty.

And let’s not ignore the role rest plays in your identity outside the gym. You’re not just an athlete. You’re a friend, a parent, a coach, a partner, a team member. If your cup is always drained from training, how are you showing up in those other roles? Rest gives you space to reconnect with those parts of yourself. It’s when creativity comes back, when joy returns, when your perspective sharpens. You begin to remember that you train to enhance your life—not consume it entirely.

For now, I may not own a facility—but I know that the culture I contribute to matters. I take that responsibility seriously. Every class I coach, every conversation I have with a member, every moment I model behavior—they all shape how recovery is viewed. And if I can be someone who normalizes smart training, who reassures an athlete that taking a Sunday off is not falling behind, or who reminds someone that skipping today might mean crushing it tomorrow—then I’m doing my job well. Because the truth is, we don’t need more coaches who push nonstop hustle. We need more coaches who understand balance. Who train hard and rest hard. Who teach that showing up doesn’t always mean sweating—it sometimes means stretching, journaling, or taking a walk outside.

And when the day comes that I do step into ownership, I’ll carry these lessons with me. I’ll build systems that celebrate rest as much as they celebrate hard work. I’ll make space for recovery classes, encourage athletes to cycle their training seasons, and help people view their fitness through the lens of longevity, not urgency.

So, before you chalk up for another session, ask yourself: What does progress look like for me this week? Is it another set of squats—or is it giving your body the rest it’s been silently asking for? Taking rest days seriously isn’t soft. It’s smart. It’s strategic. And it’s necessary. The same way you plan your training cycle, periodize your lifts, and track your Metcon scores—start planning your recovery. Start honoring it. Because if you’re truly serious about getting better, stronger, and more capable, then rest isn't the break from the work. It is part of the work.