Rest Days: Where Gains are Made
You’ve put in the work. Driving to the studio in the early morning dark. Laying out your clothes the night before and the endless loads of sweaty laundry after. You’ve woken up when you’ve wanted to sleep in and picked up the weights when you wanted to reach for the remote. That discipline deserves results.
Unfortunately, exercise is not an Easy-Bake oven. Doing more work harder, faster, and more often than you’ve ever done it before does not a physique make. There are complex physiological processes happening under the hood that need time and space to work their magic. If you’re pushing yourself hard with HIIT workouts and Zone 4 interval training, recovery protocols and rest days are required for real results
Recovery Days: A Weekly Requirement
A high effort training day is like a chaotic sizzle reel for The Bear. The ingredients are flying and so are Jeremy Allen White’s f-bombs. The work is hard, the temperature is hot, the ingredients are coming together in new ways that challenge and excite you.
Recovery days are like The Great British Bake-Off. Same precision and craftsmanship, slower pace. Contestants revere and respect the oven and the stop timer, when the judges force them to put the whisk down and set their creations in the oven, anxiously awaiting results.
Like baking the perfect spongy cake or phyllo dough, building glutes and core strength requires you respect both chemistry and Father Time. There’s a perception that recovery is separate from, or secondary to, training. But a souffle doesn’t rise from beating egg whites alone. Take those ramekins out of the oven too soon and they collapse. Skimp on recovery time and your muscles won’t rise to the occasion either. You must make time, prioritize rest, and incorporate mobility and nutrition with attention. Here’s what’s happening under the hood when you rest and recover post-class.
Jeremy Allen White in ‘The Bear’ is the OTF Splat Zone mood fr. Image: FX 2022
Us waiting for our glutes to rise. Selasi from GBB was such a vibe. Image cred: Channel 4 and Love Productions in the UK.
Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS): The Metabolic Stress and Mechanical Tension that Tells Your Body to Build
When you train, you place mechanical stress on your muscle fibers. The body reads that as a signal: “build strength here.” Recent research identifies mechanical tension and metabolic stress as the primary drivers of muscular hypertrophy, not muscle damage and microtears alone as older models suggested. Muscle protein synthesis is your body’s response to those stressors turned on by a high-powered OTF class. This complex biochemical cascade of actions leads to the construction of new muscle proteins at the cellular level to meet demand. And it happens almost entirely during rest.
Every time you push into Zone 4 chasing those splat points, you’re generating the kinds of mechanical tension and metabolic stress that turn the lights on for the MPS physiologic cascade. But without adequate recovery time, these processes are interrupted or completed at a suboptimal level. Do you have a brother who used to walk by your room and turn off the lights while you were studying, or flick the lights off and on and off and on and then turn them off and walk away just to annoy you? You may be entitled to financial compensation. And that annoying brother messing with the lights and your vibe is what you do to your body’s muscle protein synthesis lab every time you fail to take a break.
Collage c/o @sydneysartsncrafts on Pinterest
Glycogen Replenishment: Splat Points Take Gas Out of Your Tank. Rest Days are How You Fuel Back Up
Your body is smart. It knows fuel must be kept in reserve for when you cannot synthesize ATP fast enough due to exercise intensity or duration. That’s where glycogen comes in. It’s a fast-burning fuel source stored mainly in the muscles. After an intense workout, the body needs 24 hours with optimal nutrition to restore glycogen levels back to baseline. While glycogen is burned at different rates across all training zones, it is relied on almost exclusively in zones 4 and 5.
In an Orangetheory Fitness class, you’re encouraged to earn 12 splat points per session. 1 splat point = 1 minute of time spent in Zone 4 training. Zone 4 is 84-91% of your maximum heart rate. These classes have intense intervals with minimal rest periods between stations. This results in an extremely fast depletion of glycogen stores. A single 60-minute OTF class—with Zone 4 pushes, steady-state cardio, and strength work could deplete anywhere from 40 to 60% of total glycogen stores.
When muscle glycogen is depleted, ATP resynthesis is low. That means reduced force production. Translation? When you wear yourself out, then go back to class the very next day, your form might suck. This can lead to more inflammation, discomfort, and delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) due to poor technique and incorrect muscle force-couple relationships.
Knowing this, rest days no longer seem lazy, they’re logical. You don’t see F1 racers in their McLarens avoiding an oil change, driving with their tank on empty, all while weird sounds and smoke emanate from the hood. You’re not a naive 16-year-old who just got their license! Treat your body like the feat of elegant engineering that it is. Rest days after OTF classes will ensure proper muscle glycogen fuel restoration.
Mel C aka Sporty Spice aka the Blueprint
Nervous System Recovery: Bringing Your Brain & Body Back Online
You might think of fatigue and exhaustion as purely musculoskeletal issues. But your nervous system is deeply involved in the training process and it gets tired too. The brain and spinal cord along with your nerves are firing and receiving signals all session long to produce and control movement. Without time to chill the F out, your nervous system gets cranky, leading to reduced performance.
Insomnia, irritability, elevated resting heartrate, anxiety, fatigue, low mood, and lower performance are all classic signs of nervous system depletion from going too hard in the paint. These emotional signals are some of the earliest and most often overlooked symptoms of non-functional overreaching, which we’ll talk about next.
Overreaching vs. Overtraining
When training for changes in body composition, aerobic endurance, or muscular hypertrophy, we know a good workout should be a wee bit uncomfortable. Yet overexerting ourselves can lead to performance dips that last for days. Knowing the difference between good discomfort and bad will help us know when to dial it back so we can keep chasing the W. Think of it less like a binary and more like a spectrum.
Functional Overreaching (FOR)
At the top-end of the spectrum. (Think in terms of hours and days.) FOR is a planned period of heavy exertion beyond what the body typically does, designed to elicit adaptations that lead to improved performance over time. Typically lasts a few days to a week. Not bad if proper recovery time happens afterwards.
Non-Functional Overreaching (NFOR)
A period of overreaching that has become chronic in nature, think multiple weeks to a series of months. This happens after repeated heavy training sessions are completed without devoting or receiving suitable recovery time in-between. The body has been repeatedly pushed to its limits and we’re beginning to see biomarkers that signal distress. At end stages, NFOR requires time off to recover from. This can result in strength, endurance and muscle hypertrophy losses.
Overtraining Syndrome (OTS)
Overtraining syndrome typically requires multiple months to develop, usually 6 months or more of heavy training and non-functional overreach without sufficient recovery. The demands and stress placed on the body have been so imbalanced for such a period that many mechanisms of biological, neurochemical, and hormonal changes place the client at risk of injury.
Injury
The body only has so much tolerance for constant stress without recovery. If you don’t stop, your body will find a way to set you in time out. Stress fractures, tendinopathies, muscle strains, joint pain and dysfunction are common presentations. Often requires medical intervention, requiring months or years for full recovery back to prior performance levels.
Overtraining syndrome is difficult for most recreational athletes or weekend warriors to reach. But non-functional overreach is what the typical hard-driving Orangetheory customer flirts with. The difference between functional overreach that leads to health gains and non-functional overreach that leads to performance dips lies in your recovery.
The Case for Taking a Day Off
The biggest and simplest enhancement to your recovery protocol: rest days between OTF classes. This is especially important for beginners and those new to aerobic interval training styles. Consider starting with 1 class per week and working your way up as you gain endurance.
If you’re more advanced and attending classes 2 to 3 times per week comes easy to you, consider adding active rest days between classes and a full rest day on the weekend. If you’re looking to build and maintain hypertrophy, strength, mobility, and endurance: taking the same class 5-7 times a week is unnecessary to see results and may even impede them.
The simple truth: unless you’re an athlete, training for Hyrox, or extremely well-conditioned when it comes to aerobic fitness, the average adult only needs 1-3 Orangetheory classes per week to see and maintain significant improvements in strength, endurance, and muscle definition. That’s actually fantastic news. You can literally do less and have way better results. This efficiency and the performance adaptations elicited are a science-backed, full-body system for improved health. And it’s exactly why Orangetheory has remained a top boutique studio for almost two decades.
Lebron: the GOAT of basketball, recovery, and doing it all in his inimitable style.
You guys! Carbs are not the enemy! Rosalía showing us how it’s done with a Tortilla de Patatas. Icon behavior TBH. Image Cred: Rosalía Cooks Tortilla de Patatas | Now Serving | Vogue
7 Rest Day Essentials: What You Really Need to Recover
No fancy trackers, tubs, saunas, supplements, rings, red light yoga mats, or additional memberships or subscriptions are required to do recovery right. I mean, if you can and you have them, great. There is real science out there to back up these exciting advancements in recovery tech that are becoming more accessible every day. But the most expensive tools and exclusive modalities will not work if you drop the ball on basics like sleep, mobility, adequate carbohydrate intake, days off, and stress reduction. And if you hit all of the below? Consistently and well? Well now you’re operating like the Lebron James of boutique fitness goers. And he’s in his 23rd season.
Sleep
You need 7 hours minimum. The sweet spot is 8-9. If your schedule simply doesn’t allow that, nap without guilt when you can to make up the difference. It takes the average person around 15-45 minutes to fall asleep after they turn off the light. Figure out your ideal “I’m sleeping now” time block, subtract the time it takes for you to actually nod off, make sure you’re in bed before then, and stop looking at screens two hours before lights out—minimum. It takes real planning and commitment. But once you’ve got a routine going it can become a treasured part of your day.
Breathwork, Meditation, Prayer
Your bedtime routine is a natural and easy place to add breathwork, prayer, or meditation, which are proven to soothe your nervous system and set your body into rest and digest mode. This is an essential part of CNS recovery. Recent studies have shown box breathing to be effective, along with something called the 6-Breaths-Per-Minute Protocol. If you’re more connected to prayer or faith-based practices, these hold many of the same benefits for supporting recovery along with mental and emotional resilience. Lean into what you like best.
6 Breaths/Min Protocol: “Breathe in… one…two… three...four…five… six… now out… one... two... three...four…five… six…” repeat.
Box Breathing: Breathe in for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds. Exhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds. Repeat.
Meditation: Can include mantras, Metta meditation, loving-kindness prayers, body scans, etc.
Mobility Work
You need 10-15 minutes, a foam roller, and a mat. OTF classes are all about loading the body and doing real work. Quick mat-based mobility sessions will address the muscle and movement patterns underneath so you stay supple while still showing up. Some ideas to try:
Kneeling hip flexor or couch stretches
Clamshells or banded glute activation
Dead bugs, cat-cow, or bird dogs
Slow bodyweight hinges or sumo squats through full range
Thread the needle stretch, seated twists, or thoracic extensions
Arm circles, overhead reaches with resistance band, ankle alphabetsFoam Rolling
Self-myofascial techniques like foam-rolling inhibit tight and overworked tissues, creating more short-term comfort and ROM improvements. Critical for post-class days when you’re hobbling around like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. Your roller is kind of like his handy oil can that makes him all springy and lubricated afterwards.
Intense workouts stimulate and work the muscles, but without proper recovery protocols this can lead to tissue trauma and inflammation over time. Increased CNS activity and irritated tissue mechanoreceptors and nociceptors in the overworked tissue create microspasms and adhesions that form within the myofascia.
As your soft tissues begin to recover, a collagen matrix begins to form. This matrix remodels itself in a random fashion, not in the same direction as your muscles, and can be what lead to stiffness, limited ROM, and pain. Foam rolling over these irritated tissues straightens, lengthens, and broadens the collagen matrix, opens up greater range of motion (ROM) and even helps to temporarily override pain signals from the nociceptors as a result of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
Roll slowly, paying attention to tender areas, spending about 30 seconds on the muscle.
Perform 4-6 reps of active joint motion as you go for even greater results. (For example: if you’re rolling your hip abductors, count to 30 as you slowly roll while flexing and extending your knee up to 6 times.)
A few notes: Never foam roll over bony prominences, joints, bruises or wounds. Focus on rolling over the muscle belly only (ie, the juiciest part of the muscle) rather than close to joints or points of muscle origin and insertion. For certain populations foam rolling is contraindicated or precautionary. Pregnant individuals, seniors, those with osteoarthritis, bleeding disorders, varicose veins, or on certain medications must check-in with a physician prior to beginning a foam-rolling protocol. As always, I’m a CPT, not a doctor or a health care professional. Talk to your physician and care team before starting any new protocol.
If you cannot get down and up off the ground easily or cannot position and control your body to foam-roll safely, handheld devices should be used to avoid injury or misuse. The expensive guns are beautiful, but the $30 ones at Marshall’s or TJMaxx are what I recommend to clients because they do literally the same thing at a fraction of the cost and make this key modality a lot more doable for a lot more people.Steady State Movement
Once we’re feeling more comfortable and we’ve opened up some ROM from our foam-rolling session, the latest research suggests steady state, repetitive action movement can do a lot to assuage irritated nociceptors and tamp down pain signals from sore muscles. That’s because movement helps to flush out the fluid that leads to inflammation, discomfort, and myofascial adhesions.
The next time you’re feeling worse for wear, foam roll the area, followed by a 30-second static stretch of the same muscle group, and then go for a walk. Or hop on the rower or bike for fifteen minutes. Or do a flowy barre practice. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as it’s repetitive, easy, and low impact.Adequate Carbohydrate Intake & Hydration
Every time someone writes about eating right and drinking water in a recovery post we know it makes you want to roll your eyes and skim because it’s such a cliché but stay with me: adequately hydrating and fueling is the most common thing people mess up after sleep. Not nourishing yourself properly with healthy complex carbs will kneecap your body recomp goals, make you feel exhausted, lead to brain fog and in general make it harder to train well and be a functioning human at work and in your life.
OTF classes rely heavily on muscle glycogen stores. Glycogen is obtained through carbohydrates. Carbohydrates in partnership with protein are essential for providing adequate fuel for high-intensity functional training. Glycogen is also the brain’s preferred fuel source. We know that right now protein and fiber are truly “that girl” but don’t forget carbs—keep her in your corner too. For anyone training for muscular hypertrophy and aerobic endurance, carbs are critical for both performance and recovery. Fill your plate with high-quality carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats and avoid skipping meals so you have gas in the tank.
When it comes to hydration, we know you have a collection of Owalas that could put an end-cap display to shame. So use them. And when water starts to bore you, switch it up. Herbal teas or hot water with lemon are my favorite in the winter. I also like adding lime juice and Tajín to a big ol’ Hydroflask for electrolyte replacement with sazón and a healthy dose of sodium
Adequate carbohydrate intake will vary based on the individual, but current research shows 5-12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of bodyweight per day is best when it comes to sports performance, endurance, and resistance training.
If you’re training at moderate to high intensities for more than 12 hours a week, you may need more like 8-10 grams of carbs per kilogram of bodyweight per day.
Aim for anywhere from 3-4 liters of water per day minimum. And for every 15 minutes of vigorous exercise with heavy sweating, you’ll need to consume around 16oz of water to replace that fluid loss.
I’m a CPT, not a doctor or a nutritionist. Work with and RDN and your team of healthcare experts to fuel right and learn more.
Stress-Test Your Life: Look for Ways to Simplify & Savor
I saved my most important point for last. Because the best recovery modalities and protocols will still yield diminishing returns if your job is a jump scare, your finances freak you out, your relationships are no-fun, and your commitments are all-consuming. Stress is the dust that accumulates as result of a life well-lived. We will never not have problems or challenges to deal with. But some forms of stress can be mitigated, avoided, and minimized. Taking action where we can to simplify and savor supports our wellness both in and outside the studio.
Physical health is one spoke on the wheel. Consider your work, finances, friends, family, and social sphere. The emotions and thoughts that occupy your inner world. How you spend your free time and where you find spiritual wholeness and meaning—all these elements are as much a part of your health as your training. What feels supportive right now? What’s stressing you out? Identify one stressor that’s in your control. Is it something that can be reduced, mitigated or eliminated? Perhaps it’s more complex and will require dedicated, focused effort to improve. Pick one concrete action or habit you can take. Do the thing, run the experiment, and see if you don’t feel better with time.
Summary
OTF’s Zone 4 interval training is an advanced form of exercise. It’s important to give yourself credit for the A+ work you’re doing. Recovery days are not something you have to earn. They are a requirement for training smart and seeing results.
The truth is bodies are not built through beating them into submission. Rest days and recovery protocols must be folded into our training with the precision and care of a Parisian-trained pastry chef. And we must prioritize and revere our rest the way a baker respects the precise timing and temperature of their oven.
Recovery does not require fancy tools or protocols either. Rest days, carbohydrate intake, sleep, mobility work, self-myofascial techniques with a cheap foam roller, breathwork, steady-state movement, and reducing stressors are nearly-free, totally essential and easy to fold into the rhythm of your days. Recovery is not something to skip or a chore to check off your list—it’s a satisfying and relaxing part of your life that will support your longevity and healthspan.
References
Bell, L., Ruddock, A., Maden-Wilkinson, T., & Rogerson, D. (2020). Overreaching and overtraining in strength sports and resistance training: A scoping review. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38(16), 1897–1912. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2020.1763077 Bhatt, A. (2024, January 19). LeBron James reportedly spends $1.5 million a year on his biohacking regimen. Here is his daily routine. Fortune. https://fortune.com/2024/01/19/lebron-james-biohacking-regimen-daily-routine/Clark, M. A., Lucett, S. C., & Sutton, B. G. (Eds.). (2014). NASM essentials of corrective exercise training. Jones & Bartlett Learning.Encyclopædia Britannica. (n.d.). LeBron James. Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/LeBron-JamesHearris, M. A., Hammond, K. M., Fell, J. M., & Morton, J. P. (2018). Regulation of muscle glycogen metabolism during exercise: Implications for endurance performance and training adaptations. Nutrients, 10(3), 298. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10030298Hettler, B. (1976). The six dimensions of wellness. National Wellness Institute. https://nationalwellness.org/resources/six-dimensions-of-wellness/Kasap, M., & Aydin, G. R. (2025). Box breathing or six breaths per minute: Which strategy improves athletes post-HIIT cardiovascular recovery? PLOS One, 20(11), e0336615. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0336615Kerksick, C. M., & Kulovitz, M. G. (2013). Requirements of energy, carbohydrates, proteins and fats for athletes. In D. Bagchi, S. Nair, & C. K. Sen (Eds.), Nutrition and enhanced sports performance: Muscle building, endurance, and strength (pp. 355–364). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-396454-0.00036-9 MacDougall, J. D., Ward, G. R., & Sutton, J. R. (1977). Muscle glycogen repletion after high-intensity intermittent exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology: Respiratory, Environmental and Exercise Physiology, 42(2), 129–132. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1977.42.2.129Murray, B., & Rosenbloom, C. (2018). Fundamentals of glycogen metabolism for coaches and athletes. Nutrition Reviews, 76(4), 243–259. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuy001National Academy of Sports Medicine. (2022). NASM essentials of personal fitness training (7th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.National Academy of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Sympathetic vs. parasympathetic overtraining. https://blog.nasm.org/fitness/sympathetic-vs-parasympathetic-overtrainingPhysiopedia. (n.d.). Muscle protein synthesis. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Muscle_Protein_SynthesisUESCA. (n.d.). Overtraining syndrome. https://uesca.com/overtraining-syndrome/Vigh-Larsen, J. F., Ortenblad, N., Spriet, L. L., Overgaard, K., & Mohr, M. (2021). Muscle glycogen metabolism and high-intensity exercise performance: A narrative review. Sports Medicine, 51(9), 1855–1874. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01475-0PodcastsGalpin, A. (2023, February 6). Maximize recovery to achieve fitness & performance goals [Audio podcast episode]. In A. Huberman (Host), Huberman Lab. https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/guest-series-dr-andy-galpin-maximize-recovery-to-achieve-fitness-and-performance-goalsDeSteno, D. (2023, September 18). Science & health benefits of belief in God & religion [Audio podcast episode]. In A. Huberman (Host), Huberman Lab. https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/science-and-health-benefits-of-belief-in-god-and-religion-dr-david-desteno Starrett, K. (2022, August 22). How to improve your mobility, posture & flexibility [Audio podcast episode]. In A. Huberman (Host), Huberman Lab. https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/dr-kelly-starrett-how-to-improve-your-mobility-posture-and-flexibility