why are rest days so hard to take?

Itskaleena
Itskaleena Posts: 157 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I always struggle with taking a rest day and have anxiety when I do. I end up working out twice as much the next day to make up for it. It's not like I over eat or eat poorly on rest days. I eat 90% healthy and never go over. I've also had some great work outs this week

S: "1000 Cal Workout" Youtube FitnessBlender
M: 30 minutes of Tae Bo
T: 60 minutes of Tae Bo
W: weights and jogging
Th: 70 minutes Abs and HIIT
F: 60 minutes Tae Bo
Sa: 80 minute walk ( mostly up hill)

Today my back is hurting really bad. like a 5 on a scale of 0-10
Should today be a rest day? If so should I do a light work out to just lay down so my back can rest?

Back to the main question. Why are rest days so hard to take? What do you do on them?

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    I have nooo problems taking a rest day - and sometimes it's full on couch potato rest, and sometimes I might take a 20-40 minute walk with my dogs, just depends. But rest is good for you, especially after a long week of good workouts.

    I've found that taking a full week off about every 8-12 weeks is great too - lets me focus on other things around the house, I might catch up on some heavy duty cleaning or something, but a week off of focused workouts always leaves me refreshed and ready to start again the following week.

    My body loves a good rest day, and I always take one, sometimes two if I feel I need it. If your back hurts, I'd say take it easy and let it rest. You don't want to end up aggravating an injury and ending up being FORCED to take more time off because you're hurt.
  • Itskaleena
    Itskaleena Posts: 157 Member
    thank you for the reply! it's very helpful
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
    I never have a problem taking rest days
  • CelebrityStatus
    CelebrityStatus Posts: 84 Member
    I have trouble with rest days. I literally crave exercise, so when I don't exercise for at least ... an hour and a half per day, I get really wiggy and weird. I don't know why.

    But I usually work out for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.

    On "rest" days, I will work out for one hour in the morning, and one in the evening.

    I've become great friends with the gym attendants XD
  • Phaedra2014
    Phaedra2014 Posts: 1,254 Member

    I have trouble with rest days. I literally crave exercise, so when I don't exercise for at least ... an hour and a half per day, I get really wiggy and weird. I don't know why.

    But I usually work out for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.

    On "rest" days, I will work out for one hour in the morning, and one in the evening.

    I've become great friends with the gym attendants XD

    What do you do for 4 hours at the gym every day?
  • rduhlir
    rduhlir Posts: 3,550 Member
    View rest days as "recovery" days...that is what I do. You are allowing your body a day of recovery to do a complete repair where needed. At least that is what I see it as now.
  • Hauntinglyfit
    Hauntinglyfit Posts: 5,537 Member
    Rest days are my favoritest. I have a tshirt saying "every day is rest day".
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    Here's what will change your mind about rest days:

    You're all excited about the progress you're making and so you work out every day even rest days.
    You're all excited for Monday morning's workout, and it totally FIZZLES! GRRRR! Yep, you shoulda taken that rest day.
    Also wouldn't you be more prone to injury if you don't allow for rest days?
  • RaggedyPond
    RaggedyPond Posts: 1,487 Member
    Muscles grow when resting. That being said I always feel like I have so much free time on my hands on a rest day.
  • CelebrityStatus
    CelebrityStatus Posts: 84 Member

    I have trouble with rest days. I literally crave exercise, so when I don't exercise for at least ... an hour and a half per day, I get really wiggy and weird. I don't know why.

    But I usually work out for two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening.

    On "rest" days, I will work out for one hour in the morning, and one in the evening.

    I've become great friends with the gym attendants XD

    What do you do for 4 hours at the gym every day?

    I usually do 90 minutes on the elliptical and 30 on the bike in the mornings.

    40 on the treadmill/elliptical/stairs in the evenings, 20 minutes of lifting plus a class of my choice (yoga monday, wednesday, saturday and step tuesday, thursday)

    Sunday is my "rest" day, so I usually do one hour of hard cardio (I usually choose stairs because I find them insanely difficult) and one hour of lighter cardio (bike/speed walking).
  • dantonn9
    dantonn9 Posts: 13
    Physically, I love rest days! Mentally though, I struggle with them because I feel like I am not working hard enough to achieve a healthy body.
  • sarafischbach9
    sarafischbach9 Posts: 466 Member
    With my schedule, it is unrealistic for me to go to the gym 7 days a week. I go 5-6 days a week though. I take 1-2 "rest" days per week and I almost always feel guilty about it. I keep my calories slightly lower than normal on those days, but nothing crazy. One day I took two rest days in a row and my scale finally budged a pound after being the same for a while. So that was kind of weird.

    On my "rest" days they are usually on days I work an 8 hour shift. Which is usually on Saturday. Saturdays are super hectic at my job; I work at Costco and I am constantly running around and lifting objects throughout the day. It is very exhausting so I know I am burning calories anyway. Sometimes on rest days I do not do any organized exercise. Other days I just do exercises around the house, like sit ups, crunches, jumping jacks, running in place, stair climbing, etc etc, for about 30-45 minutes to have SOMETHING.

    Rest days are important! I just feel guilty, but I shouldn't
  • Angieqwerty
    Angieqwerty Posts: 1
    Based on your schedule, i'd say rest days might be hard to take because you've adapted to a routine and might not be as focused on setting new PRs, getting ready for a competition, etc. Are you adding weight or more time at intensity in a planned way? I usually look forward to rest days when I'm training hard, but fall into an everyday schedule when I'm maintaining.

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