Taking a Break

caroarcia

I have been working out really hard this past 4 months, six days a week, my only down time was when I had the flu, and even the i did some yoga. Now i am feeling tired all of the time and my body aches all over ( i switch workouts every week). So i read online that people should take a break from working out every few months for as much a week or so to recover, give the body a rest and sort of switch gears. Now rest does not mean not doing any exercise at all but taking it really easy, so instead of going to the gym just walking.
Now i have done this for the past 2 days, but i feel guilty for not pushing myself :frown:

has anybody else gone through this??

wibutterflymagic

Don't feel guilty. Yes, you need breaks. You have to think about this in another way. Do you see yourself being able to keep up this type of pace for the rest of your life? Are you only doing this to lose the weight now or do you want to make a sustainable life change that you will be able to continue with?

I see so many people/friends talking about their workouts and everything they are doing but I don't see how they are going to last. If you really want to do something that will help you lose the weight and keep it off you need to have down times. As you are seeing, you can't go full tilt forever. Your body needs the rest. There is nothing to feel guilty about if you are still doing activities. You aren't giving up, just slowing down to a more sustainable pace.

KarenJanine

What sort of workouts are you doing?

I take a break from heavy lifting once in a while - currently taking a rest week after each 6 weeks of lifting. It really gives the muscles and nervous system a chance to fully recover. If not taking a full rest week then a deload week of lifting lighter weights is advisable.

However with cardio I rarely take an extended rest as I cycle a lot and don't feel the need to stop doing so.

Ultimately, listen to your body. If you feel the need to rest then do so and don't feel guilty about it.

Holly_Roman_Empire

I would take a break just so my muscles could recover. Geez, 6 days a week?! Now it may work fine for some people, but I know I would burn myself out from constantly exercising.

wilsoje74

Why don't you cut back to 3-4 days a week? There is no need to work out 6x per week

acpgee

I don't take workout breaks, but do take a 2 week diet break every 3 months and net at TDEE.

husseycd

Whenever I take a break I feel like a huge slob, but I know they're necessary. I usually come back stronger. I try to work them around vacations when I can't really work out anyway.

caroarcia

Thanks for all the great comments!!! I am feeling better now, not so tired and reading all of your comments makes me feel better about taking a break .
As for my workouts i do 2 days of strength, 2 of cardio and 2 of yoga (Jillian Michaels levels 1 and 2 or Bob Harpers warrior)

I workout as much because its a me time, but maybe its a bit much.

Thanks again guys

Steveburg123

Too much of working out also hampers our health, i believe little relaxing is good for every fitness freak, its a good things you have thought of it & also acted on the same. But yes you can ease your workout schedule to make your body relaxed or either of the way.

FUELERDUDE

I took a break for a couple of months actually. Life happened and I wasn't really able to get to the gym. I got out of the habit of going, and it was kind of hard to start back again. I thought about exercising daily, but didn't follow through. One day I just went to they gym again and I'm back on track.

I was going gangbusters at the gym before the break as well. I was working out 3 or so hours a day (cardio and weights), 5-6 days a week. I also wasn't eating all of my exercise calories back. I lost about 45 pounds in less than 6 mos. In retrospect, what I was doing wasn't sustainable and my body needed a reprieve anyhow. I am now hitting up the gym again, and I am logging a decent amount of hours and miles, but I am eating more than I was. I feel better and more invigorated than what I had before. Hopefully this will help allow me to be on a more sustainable path. For me, I think the break was needed in order to recuperate and to rethink what I was doing. The hard part can be getting started again, even if you do feel bad about not doing your routine.

Matt24442

If you are tired, you should rest. If you arent, get at it.

In this case, yes take a week to get your body right.