Reframing ‘Rest Days’ as ‘Growth Days’

I often talk about Positive Momentum in fitness. What I mean by that is the rhythm you get into when everything feels good. Easy, even. You’re training hard, feeling strong, and it’s as if you could take on the world.

But when you’re in the positive momentum part of the cycle, it can feel almost wrong to take a day off. After all, you know how quickly momentum can shift, and the last thing you want is to lose the edge!

However, what if we reframe those “rest days” as growth days? Because that’s exactly what they are. It’s during these rest periods that our bodies repair, rebuild, and adapt — and that process is growth.

Skipping growth days doesn’t make you more disciplined; in fact, the opposite is true. Without adequate recovery, the risk overtraining and injury skyrockets, and before you know it, you’re forced into a much longer break than you ever planned.

So yes, rest is important. But how much is the right amount?

That depends on a number of factors.

For athletes who have a high level of control over their overall lifestyle: excellent nutrition, quality sleep, regular mobility work, massage, and low stress, less rest may be required.

But for the majority of people, the types of people that we typically work with at JWC: those juggling stressful jobs, interrupted sleep, and limited self care, the rest becomes even more essential. In this case, aiming for two to three days per week is often required to support recovery and long-term consistency.

It’s also worth remembering that men and women may have slightly different recovery needs. Men generally experience more stable hormone levels, while women’s energy and recovery can fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle.

For women, being mindful of these natural changes, perhaps easing off intensity in the days leading up to menstruation and pushing a little harder mid-cycle can help training feel more sustainable, and let’s face it, enjoyable. It’s not about limitation, but about working with your body, not against it.

What Does a Growth Day Look Like?

A growth day doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing. It simply means taking a break from high-intensity, high-impact activities that demand significant recovery. I mean the kind of exercise where, after finishing, you know your body has worked hard. Where your muscles remind you for days afterward.

On a growth day, you can still move. Take a walk, stretch, do a gentle deload session (time, weights & reps at around 50% with more recovery time in between) or even use the extra 90 minutes where you would have been training to do some house work. Or not, your call!  The key is to keep your body active without causing stress.

Because growth doesn’t just happen when you’re training, it happens when you give yourself the space to recover, rebuild, and come back stronger.