No matter what level athlete you are, you need rest. If you workout regularly, move your body for work, tend your garden regularly, or actively play with your kids, YOU need rest. Rest isn’t being lazy or not moving. It’s rebooting, recovering, and resetting your body and mind to become more efficient, and productive. Shift your thoughts to think of rest as time and space to refuel your body, mind, and emotions.
Your muscles need time to rebuild. They are broken down with movement and need time to build back up to become stronger and more stable.
Too much repetitive movement can create injury or less efficiency from the movement. You want to avoid injury from overtraining or creating more stress than the body or mind can handle. Give your body and mind time to refuel and reset.
Teach your body and mind how to relax. Allow yourself to let go, decompress, and reboot to create a more balanced body and clear mind.
Recover by taking a slow, leisurely walk, body rolling, stretching, active recovery class, or meditation. Burnout and injury will not help you achieve a healthy lifestyle. Rest will.
So the answer is: YES! You do need rest days!