Anyone else feel really guilty on rest days?

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karinmelanie
karinmelanie Posts: 26
in Fitness and Exercise
I usually exercise 5-6 days a week but if I could, I'd go for a run every day (or do sth. similar/high impact)

I know it's important to take days off and I always feel so much fresher and I can run so much faster after a day off, but I also feel incredibly guilty if I don't exercise. (I still try to do some Yoga or go for a brisk walk)


I used to love spending Sundays on the couch watching movies or simply doing nothing, but not anymore. I also obsess about what I eat and in my mind one day off and I'll end up 5 punds heavier the next day.

How can I just enjoy my day off without feeling guilty?

Any advice would be appreciated :)
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Replies

  • CynthiaT60
    CynthiaT60 Posts: 1,280 Member
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    I don't feel guilty. I just hate that I can't eat as much. :laugh:
  • version45
    version45 Posts: 35 Member
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    Spend that day focusing completely on someone that you care about. That will make both of you feel good - guilt free.
  • Tomm88
    Tomm88 Posts: 733 Member
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    Try to get into the frame of thinking that you've hit your goals for the week and that you deserve to sit and do nothing for a day, lay on your couch and don't even lift a finger haha.
  • DayoUDaShit
    DayoUDaShit Posts: 41 Member
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    Yeah occasionally.
  • maryjay52
    maryjay52 Posts: 557 Member
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    yes all the time
  • TruckerWife922
    TruckerWife922 Posts: 27
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    Try to get into the frame of thinking that you've hit your goals for the week and that you deserve to sit and do nothing for a day, lay on your couch and don't even lift a finger haha.

    Agreed. Call it a Reward day instead. If your guilt is a "mental thing" then tell your brain you deserve it.
  • cmbauer99
    cmbauer99 Posts: 184 Member
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    I hate rest days with a passion. However as I lay here in bed surfing the web on my ipad, my legs are sore as hell from my run and workout yesterday. So I guess rest days are important. Still will probably go for a brisk walk lol
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I don't feel guilty. I just hate that I can't eat as much. :laugh:

    This! I love my rest days, because I always feel I need them! But less food is sad!
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    I do gentle exercise too on rest days because it makes me feel good - stretching, riding my bike at a leisurely pace, swimming a little dancing around the kitchen with my daughter. I never feel bad about "rest" days because the gentle exercise I do is enjoyable to me. Gotta find that rest day activity that you like. Also, who says you have to sit around on the couch on rest days? Scrap book, take a class, do something relaxing and FUN!
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
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    Never! Rest days are an important part of my routine, when muscles get to recover, heal and refuel. I always take at least one day off, sometimes two if I feel I need it or if I'm just busy. And every 8-12 weeks or so I take a whole week off - it's fantastic.

    Rest days don't have to mean being a couch potato (although sometimes that is what I do!), but as others said - walk your dog, go for an easy bike ride. do a little yard work or whatever.

    Maybe if you focus on the fact that rest is an important part of fitness ou won't feel guilty?
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    I don't know that I feel guilty but I do get a little down, like I did not accomplish enough.
  • xsmilexforxmex
    xsmilexforxmex Posts: 1,216 Member
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    Honestly, I wouldn't take rest days when I was working out regurarly... (note: I fell off the waggon -possibly from burning out- and am trying to get back to that point) ... I would realize I had worked out every day for 8 days in a row and FORCE myself to only go for a walk or an easy short run. I don't feel rest days did much for me unless my body was tired. When I was tired I would take a break, and feel great the next day!
  • icanm
    icanm Posts: 33 Member
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    Today was my rest day. I still went to the gym for half an hour. I bumped into this diet counselor who had all these weird suggestions - women should only lift 2.5 kg of weight; stop lifting you are bulking up; don't have milk; after every one hour have green tea; eat salads through the day with lil bit of bread.

    I should have stayed home.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,508 Member
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    So guilt is a feeling of doing something bad. Change your thinking. A rest day is a day of GOOD for your body. Not letting it recover is bad. And if you don't give your body a chance to recover, that's something you should feel "guilty" about.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Nope I like my rest days, they have a purpose just as much as the days that I workout... Your body needs time to rest and recover.....
  • phil6707
    phil6707 Posts: 541 Member
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    No

    AS much as I want to get in shape and lose weight, I don't want it to be an obsession as well.

    One day of rest per week is fine, your body needs it anyway
  • Grumpsandwich
    Grumpsandwich Posts: 368 Member
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    I work out 5 days a week and take 2 "recovery days" to let my muscles get some rest and YES i feel guilty too lol. On days where I am under the weather or having a lot of back pain and i cant work out its the worst guilt ever. Especially on here like I feel the need to explain why i wont be updating a work out for the day to my friends lol
  • akuaafriyie
    akuaafriyie Posts: 21 Member
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    how i got over feeling guilty during rest days was by gradually changing my mindset.i used to tell myself that i will be exercising for the rest of my life, I will not realistically be able to do this everyday so i need to rest and then spend the rest of available time planning on what the exercise i will be doing next and how i can increase the intensity: kind of fantasize or daydream about the next workout. it made the next workouts more enjoyable!
  • gregpack
    gregpack Posts: 426 Member
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    You said it yourself- when you take a rest day your runs are better the day after. This is evidence you're not giving body enough recovery time.

    Rest and recovery are a very important part of any strength and conditioning program. Don't let the "more is always better" philosophy impair your improvements- it will if you let it.

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