It’s Okay to Give Yourself a Break

I’ve been itching to write this post for a few days. I just finished writing a paper for my Human Diet Anthropology class (we got to write about our own diet and how it related to the USDA Dietary Guidelines!) and have a few minutes before I head to yoga class. Today I want to talk about giving yourself a break, in terms of your body and your mind.

I love to exercise. Heck, it’s my profession, so I better like it! But, because I like it so much, it can sometimes become all-consuming. No matter how much I preach to my clients about recovery weeks as a part of periodization, I struggle with giving myself a rest week. Sure, I can take 1-2 rest days a week (I used to not do that!), but taking a whole week off of exercise terrifies me sometimes. What will I do with my time? How will I reduce my stress? Will I like the idea of not exercising and never workout again??? The thoughts buzz through my head and I have even lost sleep over it before. How NOT stress reducing.

The thing is, since getting serious about exercise in my senior of high school, I have never given myself a whole week off, unless I HAD to due to injury or illness. I don’t sick that often, and when I am injured, it is most likely due to overtraining. Hmmmm…I am sensing a connection here…

That’s just it! Your body NEEDS rest to recover and prevent injury. 1-2 days of rest a week is not going to cut it if you are training for months on end. I was talking to my client today about overtraining and taking a week or two of rest every now and then. I compared it to school. There is a reason why we have seasons in life and breaks from school. It’s so we can let our brains rest and prevent burn out. I’ve been plowing through season after season of fitness and I’ve finally given in to my signs of burn out and have allowed myself this week of rest.

I realized I needed to take the week off after attending a Midwest Mania, a fitness conference, this past weekend. I was a staff volunteer, so I was up early Friday – Sunday and on my feet almost all day, PLUS taking fitness classes. It was an exhausting weekend to say the least, but fun too! When I got back home, the last thing I wanted to do was workout. I just wanted sleep. Lots of it! So, I told myself to take the week off. I am still doing yoga a couple of days this week because it’s a good stress reliever for my mind and body. I haven’t purposefully exercised since Saturday and I haven’t blown up. Hm, imagine that? I actually feel excited to get back to lifting, cycling, and a kickboxing class next week. See? I didn’t lose all motivation and want to become a lifetime couch potato! So, how have I handled this break from exercise without going crazy?

1. Realizing that fitness isn’t my whole life

Sure, I love working out and I love helping others with their fitness, but I also know that it isn’t the ONLY thing in my life. I am very fortunate to love my job, but one of the things I love the most about my job is the interaction I have with my clients. I love hearing about their life outside of the gym, their family/friends, or whatever they want to talk about! There are plenty of other things in my life that bring me great joy, like spending time with Tony, seeing/talking to friends and family, reading a good book, sitting down to relax and watch a movie or show, cooking new recipes, or just listening to soothing music and lying in bed, especially on Saturday and Sunday mornings when you don’t have to be anywhere and it almost feels as if the world stops and lets you soak it all in.

2. Taking the time to take care of myself in other ways

Exercise is a form of self-care, but if done too much, it can be a negative stress on the body. Since I am taking a break from it, I have been practicing self-care by getting enough sleep (7-8 hours each night), going to coffee shops and treating myself to an iced coffee while studying, or spending more time reading blogs and finding new recipes to make in the coming months. These little things make me happy and feel a little selfish, but we need those things for ourself so we can take care of others. Remember, self care doesn’t always have to be about improving your physical body. It’s usually about improving your mental body.

3. Writing and reading about it

Even writing this post has helped me feel better about taking a week off. I love to shout my feelings from the rooftops, so getting it off my chest in the form of my blog is a way to release some emotions. Also, reading about overtraining and how to deal with breaks from fitness has helped immensely. When you can relate to someone else, it makes your situation feel a bit easier. I loved these two posts from Paige. Go check them out if you have struggled with rest day/week remorse!

With all that being said, I’ve enjoyed these past few days of exercise freedom and I know my body is thanking me. I will be rearing and ready to go once next week rolls around – and hopefully will perform better than ever before since I allowed my body to rest. If not, that just means I need to ease back in slowly and really listen to what my body is feeling like doing at the moment. I hope you take some time to relax and rest too!