Do rest days help your overall workouts and fat burning?

The answer is YES! But, it’s important to know what you need to rest from doing.

Cardio exercise can be done daily and should be done at least 4-5 times per week. This will help you burn fat if you’re working within an appropriate target heart rate zone.

Weight training (aka strength training) is different. If you’re weight training to build tone and definition, you should rest 1-2 days between work-outs. If you’re weight training to build muscle (i.e. bulk), you should rest 4-5 days between work-outs.

Appropriate weight training actually breaks the muscle down (this is good) and it’s important to give your body time to heal those muscles which helps them respond to the work-out and become stronger.

It’s important to incorporate both cardio and weight training into your weekly work-out routine. Remember: muscle burns fat, so the more muscle you have the more fat your burn, even when you’re resting!!