Rest Days.. Do you need them?

motorsportcfd

brianpperkins wrote: »

motorsportcfd wrote: »

contingencyplan wrote: »

It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.

What evidence are you basing this on?

Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?

I concede that could be a valid point.

FitPhillygirl

I workout 6 days a week and don't feel guilty at all about my rest day.

SarenaWM

brianpperkins wrote: »

motorsportcfd wrote: »

contingencyplan wrote: »

It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.

What evidence are you basing this on?

Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?

I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.

brianpperkins

SarenaWM wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

motorsportcfd wrote: »

contingencyplan wrote: »

It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.

What evidence are you basing this on?

Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?

I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.

Words mean things. The fact you find a need to backtrack from your word choice is revealing.

gio14

Today was my rest day. Not sure if it was needed, but damn that felt good! Mentally feel recharged that's for sure.

SarenaWM

brianpperkins wrote: »

SarenaWM wrote: »

brianpperkins wrote: »

motorsportcfd wrote: »

contingencyplan wrote: »

It sounds like you really do have some sort of unhealthy addiction to exercise, taking it to levels that could be more self harm than good.

What evidence are you basing this on?

Did you miss her feeling guilty about the concept of a rest day?

I say "guilty" lightly. It's not extreme nor is it self hate based. I don't feel the need to restrict my calories or work extra hard the following day. It's like... the way I feel if I should clean my room and I decide to watch netflix instead. Like, "Oh crap, probably should have done more today" guilt.. not "I am a pathetic failure of a human" guilt.

Words mean things. The fact you find a need to backtrack from your word choice is revealing.

I am not backtracking, I'm clarifying. I do feel guilty, but the guilt is not so intense that I feel my relationship with exercising is disordered in any way. I like to feel like I have accomplished all I can in a day, so if at the end of the day I feel I could have or should have done more, I feel a bit of guilt. This extends to all areas of my life. I don't think about exercising and burning calories every moment of my day. If I felt like I needed to rest or if something came up that needed my complete attention, I would not feel bad about skipping the gym. I just don't want to take a rest day if it's not beneficial or necessary. I enjoy working out, and it's something I look forward to.

brianpperkins

Do whatever you want.

You say one thing, when numerous people highlight what you say, you try to rationalize it away. You're not getting the results you hope for ... you feel guilt (no matter how much you try to dismiss what that really means) ... I would wish you good luck, but your choices make that impossible.

SarenaWM

Thank you.

After everything I have read.. I think I will shift my workouts to be more strength focused, rather than mostly cardio, and keep alternating which muscle I train each day so that I don't train the same one two days in a row. Hopefully I will see more muscle gains with this method.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with my questions!

Sam_I_Am77

SarenaWM wrote: »

Thank you.

After everything I have read.. I think I will shift my workouts to be more strength focused, rather than mostly cardio, and keep alternating which muscle I train each day so that I don't train the same one two days in a row. Hopefully I will see more muscle gains with this method.

Thanks again to everyone who helped with my questions!

One guy mentioned earlier in the thread that he has more rest days than training days. That's really not a bad way to go because the added recovery is good and if your nutrition is on-point then your weight will be fine. One of the best things I did was take my training down from 5-days, to 4-days, and now just 3-days which I'm finding to be an optimal amount of volume and recovery for me. One other day usually for some cardio and that's it, enjoy life.