You already know you need to push your limits to keep reaching your fitness goals, whether you’re looking to shed a few pounds, nail a faster race time or sculpt your physique. But that time you take to rest between butt-kicking workouts? It’s just as important. In fact, without recovering properly, you could stall your progress — or worse, reverse it.

Trouble is, it’s easy to get carried away with hardcore exercise. “We have this mentality in England: If a little bit is good, then more is better,”. One of the biggest mistakes people make in the pursuit of improved athleticism is going too hard on days they should be taking it easy. After all, exercise is only one piece of the fitness equation.

Why you need a break

Exercise puts physical stress on the body. And in order to see results from that stress, you need to give your muscles time to adapt and recover. “Fitness improvements happen after the workout, not during the workout,”. The best way to help your body recuperate and stay on track to reach your goals is to incorporate active recovery days into your weekly schedule. That means easy sessions done at no more than 60 to 70 percent of your maximum effort.

The reason:

After a hard workout, the body initiates an inflammatory response to help you recover. But if you do too much high-intensity exercise, that inflammatory response can work against you. High-intensity exercise weakens the immune system, which makes you much more susceptible to germs, especially during flu season. That could easily translate to more sick days and less gym-time.

So don’t be afraid to take it easy in order to stay healthy!