Carl Immich, a Rensselaer, New York–based business owner and builder, brings decades of hands-on experience in construction, property management, and craftsmanship to his company, Builders Choice. Before founding the firm in 2018, he built a diverse career that began in boat design and yacht repair, later expanding into custom home construction, renovations, and maintenance. Known for his precision and dedication to quality, Carl Immich balances his professional life with an active personal one. An avid outdoorsman and competitive athlete, he enjoys snowboarding, archery, fishing, and participating in Spartan Races. His approach to fitness mirrors his philosophy in business—discipline, recovery, and balance. In this article, Carl Immich explores why rest days are critical for gym training success and how recovery contributes to long-term performance and health.
Rest Days Are Critical for Gym Training Success
When you think about fitness and strength training, you probably imagine intense gym sessions where you lift heavy weights and push yourself to the limit. While dedication and consistency are crucial, there’s one vital element often overlooked by gym-goers: rest days. Believe it or not, rest days are as important as workout days.
Rest days are the days you specifically set aside for relaxing the body. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you spend your entire day sleeping in bed or on the couch – though you can. It just means you do not go to the gym on those days to exercise your muscles.
Your body needs rest days for several reasons. First is recovery. When you work out, you create micro tears in your muscle tissues. The body repairs these micro tears during rest. Cells known as fibroblasts repair torn muscle tissues, and this healing results in stronger, larger muscles. When you rest, therefore, you allow your muscles time to heal and grow.
Taking a break also reduces the likelihood of muscle fatigue. When you exercise, your muscles break down their glycogen reserves for energy. Glycogen reserves are the carbohydrates stored in muscles. Rest days allow your muscles time to replenish their glycogen reserves, preventing fatigue.
Rest days also improve performance and reduce the chances of getting injuries. If you train every day, you will overwork your muscles, leading to excess soreness, reduced endurance, and slower reaction times. As your performance dwindles, you are also more likely to have accidents at the gym, such as slips and falls, dropping weights on yourself, or lifting with poor form. These increase the risk of injury. Taking regular breaks prevents these, enabling you to perform better.
Rest days also support healthy sleep. Excessive training causes the body to release plenty of adrenaline and cortisol (a stress hormone). These make it harder for you to sleep.
Taking time off to rest is, therefore, critical for better exercise, which in turn makes it more likely that you will stick to your training program and achieve your goals. So, how often should you schedule rest days? It depends on your fitness level, how much you exercise, and the types of exercise you do.
If you are a beginner, you’ll need more rest days to acclimate your body to the strenuous activities of the gym. Schedule rest days two to three times a week. Experienced gym-goers can cope with fewer rest days, say one to two days a week.
If you are an experienced gym-goer who trains intensely (lifting heavy weights or doing very long, intense cardio sessions), you’ll need more recovery time. Consider resting the day after a heavy gym session. Alternatively, you can incorporate rest days into your training by only working out specific muscle groups on a given day. Say chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, and back on Wednesday. This allows time for each muscle group to rest before you exercise it again. Even with this program, though, you need to incorporate full days of rest weekly.
If you mostly do cardio exercises at the gym (moderate or vigorous levels), you’ll also need rest days. You can do three days of cardio workouts, then rest on the fourth day.
The above are general guidelines. You can speak with your trainer to modify them as your schedule allows without compromising your training goals.
There are signs that you do need to take an emergency rest day, though. If you experience significant pain while working out, you should stop training and seek medical attention. Afterward, it is best to rest for a couple of days. Similarly, if you experience persistent fatigue, lingering muscle soreness, poor performance, and sleep disturbances, take a rest day or consider scheduling more rest days in your week. Frequent injuries could also mean you need to add rest days.
On your rest days, take time to relax your body. You can do very light exercises if you are used to moving around. Consider taking a walk, stretching, yoga, or light dancing. Eat healthy meals, prioritizing proteins to optimize muscle repair.
About Carl Immich
Carl Immich is the owner and operator of Builders Choice, a custom home building company based in Rensselaer, New York. With experience spanning boat design, construction, and renovation, he oversees every phase of project planning, client relations, and development. Before founding Builders Choice, he worked with Monterey Boat Builders and American Custom Yachts, contributing to notable projects for high-profile clients. Outside of work, Carl Immich is passionate about outdoor recreation, fitness, and competitive sports, including archery, snowboarding, and Spartan Races.