Tiredness and guilt...

shoneybabes

How many times a week do all the members exercise? Do people exercise days in a row? Or when you feel tired do you take a rest day and then work out the day after?

I am trying not to overdo it but never sure if I should persevere through the tiredness or rest. It isn't a bone shattering tiredness which is why I keep going until I feel like I don't want to get up the next and go to work!!

And does anyone else feel guilty if they don't exercise?

BrianSharpe

I tend to get crabby (or so my wife & kids tell me) if I miss a running day.........

I exercise on consecutive days (run 4 x weekly, strength 2 or 3 x weekly, biking, swimming, rowing etc) but alternate days (ie won't do strength 2 days in a row) and the only days I run 2 consecutive days would be Saturday (short & easy) and Sunday (long & slow) and I take a rest /recovery day every week.

IveLanded

I get moody when I stop exercising. When I started out, I committed to an hour a day, 6 days a week. After getting into the habit of it, it wasn't difficult at all. I've been at it for 8 months now, so it's just part of my life. I don't feel guilty but I do feel moody and crabby and restless if I don't work out.

I generally work out every day and if I haven't had a rest day due to life happening, then I make sure I have on at least every 10th day.

shoneybabes

Would you say you both work at 50, 60, 70 or 100% ?

Mummyadams

I try to work out 6 x days a week. My typical week looks like this:
Monday - cardio (incline treadmill and/or bike) - 60 mins
Tuesday - Crossfit + extra bike if my body allows it
Wednesday - weight training
Thursday - Crossfit + extra abs
Friday - weight training
Sat - cardio circuit style + abs
Sun - rest

wolfchild59

I work out six days a week, Friday's are my rest days.

Whether or not I take any days off depends on what's going on. If I'm in the course of a training schedule for a specific upcoming race then I don't take days off. The only days I've missed have been for medical reasons (as in, I was at the hospital) or one day that was outside of my control to get home in time to do my long run. But I did it that Friday instead, so I still got all of my workouts in.

Whenever I work out, I try to always give it 100%. There are some days that I'm more tired than others that even though it feels like 100% for that day, that it's probably only about 80% of what I could normally do.

And I wouldn't say that I felt guilty for missing the day that I did, but I definitely didn't like it and that was part of why I made sure to make up the workout later.


If I'm not training for a specific race then I'm more likely to take a day off to go out. For example, my husband's brother is coming to town this week. If I were race training, I'd be skipping the main plans for the evening to get my workout in and then I'd join them for part of the time, working around my schedule. Since I'm not in race training, I'll just be skipping that evening's workout and going to hang out and relax.

I don't make the skipping a regular thing though. It's not like an "Oh, I feel tired tonight, I just won't workout", it typically has to be for something specific like a friend or family based event.

NCchar130

How many times a week do all the members exercise? Do people exercise days in a row? Or when you feel tired do you take a rest day and then work out the day after?

I am trying not to overdo it but never sure if I should persevere through the tiredness or rest. It isn't a bone shattering tiredness which is why I keep going until I feel like I don't want to get up the next and go to work!!

And does anyone else feel guilty if they don't exercise?

I know exactly how you feel :flowerforyou:

I've been on here about a month and a half and worked my way up to working out 6 days a week, rest day on Saturday. Right now I do about 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and 3 days of strength at the gym (I alternate the cardio and strength). Usually I'm all over it but this week, I have felt unusually sore since my Sunday gym session and unusually tired in general, like I'm getting sick. Maybe it's just allergies, who knows. Anyway, I went back and forth with myself mentally all day today because tonight is gym night ("am I just being a baby or should I go ahead and take additional rest days from the gym and get back to it on Thursday, do I REALLY feel beat up and tired or am I making excuses, hmmm...").

Thing is, many successful people on MFP have pointed out that 80-90% of one's success is going to be due to diet. So I decided to go ahead and skip the gym until Thursday and I went for a walk instead today, nice and low-impact, just to get some kind of activity in. I've been working out pretty hard and I'll be curious to see how my gym session goes on Thursday. Maybe I'll find that 2 days of strength training is better than 3 anyway.

rachelerwin

I am in the gym 7 days a week and I workout with a trainer twice a week.

urloved33

I exercise as often as I can...sometimes days in a row. I battle guilt when I don't go and need to "let myself off the hook" because beating ourselves up gets us nowhere but hurting. I try to nurture myself when I am tired and that might include taking a soak in the hot tub instead of exercising...Its a one day at a time journey. Thats what I think anyway.

AmyFett

I did the 30 day shred for 8 days in a row and I got super bored with it and stopped. I haven't exercised outside of walking/cleaning in a couple days now. I'm gonna start doing kickboxing here and there though.

ggcat

I workout 6 times a week (occasionally only 5). I take one rest day a week, and that happens on the morning I don't have it in me to go. Sometimes I force a rest day after 4-5 days in a row. I break up my routine to keep my body from adapting to a predictable schedule. I do cardio 3 times, and lift weights 3 times a week. Never in the same order and I just started mixing up my cardio machines!

Do what works best for you; listen to your body! Good Luck!

ahviendha

I exercise 5-6x days a week now, but I started at 3x a week alternating days off and days at the gym. Now I do 30DS 3-4x a week and run 30-40 minutes on days I'm not doing 30DS. I also like to take walks with my dog at night to walk off muscle stiffness and have fun! 1-2x a month I hike 8-9miles on the weekend which takes about 4 hours.

I push through tiredness, and muscle pain, unless it hurts to stand up or sit down, then I take a day off to let them recover.

I do have guilt when I don't exercise, but it's guilt for not taking care of my body and the ill effects I feel when I don't work out (I have anxiety issues, got off medication last year and exercise is NECESSARY for me to feel calm and relaxed).

Mathguy1

I exercise 6 days a week. Mon, Wed, Fri I run (I seem to have tweaked the upper portion of my left achilles heel so I ride the stationary bike). Tues, Thur, and Sat I lift. On sunday I do not exercise.

If Friday's plans get in the way, I'll switch my friday to a rest day and run on sunday.

After each 10 weeks of exercising, I take a week off.

janiceover

I excercise with a trainer at the gym 4x week. I also try to add small bits of movement throughout the rest of the week, maybe running a bit, or taking the dog for a nice long walk.
I had to stop excercising for 2 weeks due to a medical issue, and in those 2 weeks, I felt sluggish and irritable.
I am now back to my regular routine and I feel full of energy once again!
I do feel guilty if I don't excercise....so I just do it!!!

Thundermtn

I do a 5 and 2 split overlap.
I feel horrible if I miss a day.

waronmyfat

this is typically my exercise routine.. it use to be more full on then what it is now lol

Monday - Spin Class and Yoga Class - back to back
Tuesday - Aerobics Step Class and weights plus more cardio on the bike and treadmill usually 25mins on each
Wednesday - rest day
Thursday - Body Pump (fav class) and weights plus more cardio on the bike and treadmill maybe 30mins on each depending on how im feeling
friday - boxing day and cardio 50mins on each bike and treadmill
saturday - rest day
sunday - Boxing again and then its weights and more cardio - 25mins-30mins on treadmill and bike

I'm petty full on with my routine and i never deviate i feel guilty for having 2 days off a week and always fight with myself over it.. lol

flechero

Tiredness has an impact on workouts and overall health so as long as you don't have some chronic tiredness issue (if so see a Dr.) then listen to your body.

I'm a firm believer in resting between workouts so I don't do consecutive days. Even running, since I took it back up I have been considering it a workout since I add mileage each week. If I backed off and just ran a few miles, I could see doing it consecutive days without worry.

I remain active on "off" days, just don't do gym or straight mileage.

I'm also a firm believer in getting enough sleep! I get up at 4:15am on my run days so I have no qualms sleeping until 6:30am, if possible, on off days. And if I get the chance to nap- you bet I will.

mjswalters

The town I live in doesn't have any gym facilites with child care, so that limits me to working out only 3-4 days a week. One of those days is usually road running after the kids have gone to bed, but the others are cardio (treadmill) and weights at the gym.

ksavy

I will normally work out five days a week. Every now and then I will get an urge to go run on a rest day, so i will do that, just nothing too hard.

v70t5m

How many times a week do all the members exercise? Do people exercise days in a row? Or when you feel tired do you take a rest day and then work out the day after?

...

And does anyone else feel guilty if they don't exercise?

It's important to keep in mind that we are asking a lot of our bodies ... massive diet and workout changes can really throw our former couch resting selves into difficult adjustment periods. We have to re-learn to listen to our bodies signals and develop our personal coping mechanisms: is that a good sore feeling or a STOP, you are about to hurt yourself feeling?

Working out can alleviate some soreness. I am better off with a short run after lifting than stretching alone, and walking is great to work out that tightness from yesterday's cardio. When I first started, I could not possibly work out two days in a row.

It is so important to develop the plan that works for you - pushing yourself just enough, but not too much ... and then change it up every six weeks or so.

Also, remember to throw in your rest days and rest weeks. If you are tired and seeing a slip in performance, your body is telling you it needs a rest week at 80% or less typical effort. Some exercisers schedule these regularly every five to eight weeks.

Like many other posters, I work out six days a week: lift and run 2-3x, interval or kickbox 2x, and long run. On my non-workout days, I do yoga.

My first couple rest weeks were really difficult to do, because I felt guilty that I wasn't put an all out effort in. I've since come to realize that my rest weeks improve my performance. I try to schedule rest weeks to coincide with vacations, or with family visiting, or with really busy work schedules.