Recent evidence has shown that a fluid loss of 2% of body weight can affect your circulatory functions and decrease your performance levels.

I know you might be thinking…

How can water affect my performance?

Here’s the deal:

Water has numerous roles in the human body.

It serves as a carrier for nutrients and waste products, it acts as the main thermoregulatory agent to control your body temperature, it takes part in the biochemical breakdown of what you eat (protein, fats, carbs) and the list goes on and on.

Did you also know that the amount of water you should drink every day varies between 3 and 4 liters?

That depends on your sex, age, weight, and activity level.

What’s the bottom line?

Make sure you drink plenty of water every day, and even more when you’re extra active.

That way, you’re keeping your performance on point.

Can you imagine completely improving your quality of life just by adding an effective workout plan to your days?

It has been proven that doing 30 minutes of exercise a day improves your self-esteem, reduces your stress, sharpens your memory, and lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease.

I think those are pretty good reasons to start exercising today, don’t you think?

There are a lot of reasons that can be attributed to this problem.

But the most relevant and the one with the highest incidence is the lack of physical activity.

A recent study by researchers from Stanford University’s School of Medicine showed that the number of women reporting no physical activity rose from 19% to 52% between 1988 and 2010.

For men, the same issue was observed, but in this case the rate jumped from 11% to 43%.

Disturbing, right?

But obesity is not the only health issue that can benefit from regular exercise.

There are many other health problems that can be addressed and/or controlled when people start practicing a more active lifestyle.

Amazing, don’t you think?

Now that you have seen some of the problems of not having regular physical activity, let’s talk about the incredible benefits of daily exercise.

As you may have thought, the exercise benefits are endless, and they range from increased relaxation and better sleep to healthier skin and stronger bones.

There are literally hundreds of benefits from regular exercise, but to make things simpler, here are some of my faves:

All right, you now know the pros and cons, but there’s one missing part of the puzzle.

How can I become more active?

Here’s the deal:

Including some kind of physical activity in your day-to-day routine is not a difficult task.

Otherwise, you can put yourself at risk if you are not used to getting much physical activity and then suddenly, you start doing 500 squats.

This is a very important part of having a healthy lifestyle.

But let me explain something to you real quick.

When I talk about rest, I’m not only referring to a good night’s sleep.

Rest in my opinion entails so much more.

My recommendation is that you choose an activity that you really enjoy doing and include that activity in your rest days no matter what.

What’s the point you may ask?

Doing an activity that you love will help you release the stress of the week and will give you a new perspective of the things that are bothering you.

So, it’s like a fresh start for the next day.

What’s the importance of rest days for those people that do regular physical activity?

Well, if you’re into the fitness life already, your body–especially your muscles–will be craving for a rest day.

In that case, a proper recovery session should last 48 hours.

This period is crucial because it will give your muscles the time necessary for recovering, strengthening, and growing.

Yep, you read that right!

Rest periods are also important because they reduce muscle soreness and prevent injuries.

That said, there’s one key lesson I want you to remember…

When you skip your rest days, the probabilities of having an injury increase considerably.

In simple words, overtraining occurs when the intensity and volume of the exercise exceed your recovery capacity which results in a performance decline.

Another way to see it is that you’re giving your body more work than it can handle.

Now let’s go even one step further…

Luckily, there are signals that can lead you to determine if you are suffering from overtraining syndrome.

Here are some of them:

If you are experiencing any of those symptoms, you may be overdoing your training program.

That means you should reassess your priorities and rebuild your exercise routines or follow a structured and well-balanced workout program.

Long story short, it’s entirely up to you.

You can opt in for either passive or active recovery.

Passive Recovery refers to not doing any kind of physical activity on your rest days.

While Active Recovery is about adding low-intensity activities to your rest days such as swimming, self-myofascial release (foam rolling), or hiking, just to name a few.

Whether you’re a newbie, a fitness enthusiast, or a seasoned athlete, remember to take some time off to let your body and your mind recover from the stress of the week.

It’s a crucial part of the journey that is sometimes overlooked, so make sure not to make that mistake.

First, pat yourself on the back because you just read a 3300-word article!

Second, are you ready to use the actionable info from this post to start or continue your journey towards a healthy lifestyle?

If so, then I recommend grabbing the free guide I put together just for you.

Also, don’t forget to comment below. I’d love to hear what you think of this post.