Rest days are important, but when should they be?

Taking rest day is incredibly important. Rest days are when the body is able to fully repair and strengthen itself from the work you put it through. Unfortunately rest days are sometimes viewed as unnecessary. The mindset of ‘if I’m not training, I’m not improving’ is very common and very strong. What needs to be understood is that a rest day doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a completely “off” day.

What is a rest day?

A rest day can mean different things to different people/teams. Regardless the specifics of what it is, the goal is the same which is to let the body recover. Proper recovery ensures the body is strong and able to continue training and push harder the next day. Usually, these days involve things such as foam rolling, massage, yoga, mobility movements/stretches and very low impact activities. It isn’t a day to be viewed as sitting around doing nothing. The intensity is low but the intent of the activities themselves is still high.

Best time for a rest day

That is a million dollar question right there as there are a lot of variables to consider. The psychological piece is major for a team as you want to ensure after a match that time to decompress is provided. Playing at such a high intensity takes a lot out of you and a lot of recovery needs to take place. But whether that recovery is a full rest day or a lighter training session the next day is the big question. A recent study reviewing rest day scheduling habits of various top soccer clubs throughout the world shows having a rest day two days after a match may be the way to go.

Recovery timeline impact on injuries

Having a rest day two days after a match showed significant decreases in injury amongst the players. The situations specifically where this was noted when time between matches was 3 or 7 days. Part of this could be that it helps keep training loads of starters and substitution players equal. The day after a match, starters can have a lighter active recovery day while the subs could have a heavier workload to still get the work in they need. Maintaining that proper balance of total work ensures they are staying fit as well. Being more fit naturally decreases injury risk as was shown in the data collected.

Rest day considerations

While that second day appears to be more often than not the way to go, always keep an open mind. Evaluate all the different aspects before locking in the decision. Consider how you and/or the other players are feeling psychologically and what other events may be going on at the same time as well. The main thing though is to ensure that the proper training loads are being achieved while recovery opportunities are still available as well. Maintaining fitness helps minimize injury risk and so too does that rest. Just make sure on those rest days that nutrition and hydration are still being prioritized as well!

Study referenced: click here