How I Deal With Rest Days-Why I No Longer Associate Them With Guilt {Tips For You!}

High stress, low energy, crappy workouts. Have you been there? I have.

I get to the gym, when I KNOW that I should be taking a leisure walk or simply taking a break from the weights. There was a time that it was SO hard for me to really listen to my body. The results came flooding through when my body felt awful, I was edgy, fatigued, lacked strength and overall just felt puffy and inflamed.

Rest and recovery are critical components of any successful training program. They can also be super challenging to stick to, especially when you are used to working 100% effort, 100% of the time. If you have experienced overtraining and have struggled with rest and recovery, this post is for you.

• REST can be referred to by adequate sleep, quality of sleep and having your body repair from your hard workouts.
• RECOVERY can be referred to as techniques and actions taken to maximize your body’s repair.These include hydration, nutrition, posture, heat, ice, stretching, self-myofascial release (foam rolling), stress management, compression, and time spent standing versus sitting versus lying down. The combination of both rest and recovery help to repair the nervous system, hormonal balance, mental state and physical state as well.

When both REST and RECOVERY are a priority, this is when you will see the most gains in both strength gains, muscle gain and overall performance.

Why Is Recovery and Rest Important?

The trendy thing these days is to not be able to walk post workout. Exercise has become this almost unattainable thing to do in moderation or ‘just enough of’ I cringe every time I see those posts on social media that say something along the lines “if you’re not sore, its not working”

This is just not the case. You do not have to finish every workout unable to walk, in fact soreness is not an indicator of an effective workout routine. Effective workouts should be measured by how good you feel, how successfully you are able to move about your daily life, improvements in strength, performance and of course fat loss (if this is your goal)

Every time you perform and repeat a workout, the goal should be more focused on feeling stronger everyday and a way to ensure that is taking proper rest and recovery days!

If your body is telling you something in regards to how it feels, it is probably right. Skip the gym and go for a walk instead. This is much easier said than done– I get that because I have been there. After talking to dozens of people about overtraining and how to take rest– I was inspired to write this post. Lets get to it!

How To {Enjoy} And Take Rest Days

• Ensure Proper Sleep: Who doesn’t love sleep? This item on the list is probably the most overlooked but one of the most important factors. Stress is bad for our health. We know this. We also know that the body functions best when well rested. Think about the last time you had a horrible nights sleep. Chances are you were unproductive at work, irritable, edgy, forgetful, mindlessly snacking all day and forget that quality workout you had planned. Getting adequate sleep also helps to stay focused and on task during the day so you will be more productive and energized for your workday and workout! TIPS: Keep the room around 65-67 degrees, set a bedtime routine, put your phone away 1 hour before bed, get comfortable pillows and minimize artificial lighting.
• Skip The Gym: If you work hard in the gym with high intensity workouts that are super taxing, your body just can’t sustain this high level of activity 7 days a week. I know you’re thinking “Naomi, I can still just go to the gym and walk on the treadmill” And yes, you can absolutely do this, but keep in mind, even being in this enviornment where you are watching everyone throw weights around and breathing heavy, this can be very hard for you {on your rest day} to just walk on the treadmill and watch this happening in front of you. I would recommend taking a designated break from the gym. Go for a walk. Go to a yoga studio for yoga. You can still move in intelligent and easy ways without the gym.
• Gain Back Your Mental Edge: From a psychological standpoint, taking a rest period can rekindle your hunger for exercise and help prevent burnout. Mental fatigue can be every bit as detrimental as physical fatigue and taking a rest day helps to recharge the psyche. So what can you do to get your mind set on rest? For starters, you’re going to have to make the mental adjustment to understanding and believing that you can take rest days without affecting performance. Just like any other goal you set, try to set REST GOALS. Pick out one (or two) days a week that you just focus on lower intensity activities like yoga, leisure walking, mobility work.
• Keep Yourself Busy: On your rest days, I get that it can be super hard to not have these feelings of guilt that you should be at the gym or you should be moving. When I take rest days, I often try to fill up my day with something that I want. I meet up with a friend, get a manicure, work on a blog post or my business, listen to a podcast while taking a walk, read a book, organize my drawers, clean my apartment, take myself to lunch. Think of SOMETHING that you have wanted to do but just haven’t had a chance to get around to.

I remember when I was in that place that I was actually scared to take a rest day. I had it in my head a whole variety of things:

I would gain weight

I would fall off the wagon of my program

I would lose my strength gains

I would overeat

I would feel guilty

It took me a long time to give my body the permission to take a rest day without guilt and anxiety that I SHOULD be doing something. Some of my post productive days and best thinking is on days that are super low in intensity. It is a mind body connection that is totally different than that associated with a hard workout.

I find it so sad that rest days are associated with feelings of guilt, laziness and low productivity. They are smart, necessary and create an optimal, happy homeostasis for the body. Rest is not earned.

You should not have to DO MORE in order to FEEL SECURE AND WORTHY. It is such a crazy thing to think about the fact that we beat ourselves up over taking one measly day that we are not in the gym.

Rest and recovery are required, and moreover, you certainly don’t need to go posting on social media excuses why you are taking this day off. This should be something that you are celebrating and taking advantage of. Chances are the next day back in the gym will be one of your best days of the week!

Slow your roll. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. There is always tomorrow.

Comments, questions or struggles with taking days off? I would LOVE your feedback! Always email me Naomir3@gmail.com