Sick and skipping the gym. Should I be guilty?
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irishgal25
Posts: 18 Member
Okay so I know this sounds like I want validation for skipping a gym day, but I have a legitimate question.
When is it okay to give the gym a miss for the day and not beat yourself up about it?
I've been watching my calories and doing 45mins hard cardio with a bit of weight training 4/5 days per week for the past two months. I haven't seen much change on the scales but I feel fitter and people have commented on my appearance. So I must be doing something right. However because I can't see a change on the scales (or even a drastic change in clothes fitting etc) I feel like I should be working harder and harder at any cost.
Today, I'm run down. I've caught a mild cold and I feeling pretty fatigued, however if I pushed myself i could go to the gym but I don't know if i could really apply myself as much as I do when I'm 100%. I've gymed 3 days out of the past 4 and on my "day off" I did an hour yoga.
Usually I'd hit he gym tonight but I have zero motivation. Should I suck it up and go anyway, or take it easy and go tomorrow? How do you over come the guilt of taking days like this off?
When is it okay to give the gym a miss for the day and not beat yourself up about it?
I've been watching my calories and doing 45mins hard cardio with a bit of weight training 4/5 days per week for the past two months. I haven't seen much change on the scales but I feel fitter and people have commented on my appearance. So I must be doing something right. However because I can't see a change on the scales (or even a drastic change in clothes fitting etc) I feel like I should be working harder and harder at any cost.
Today, I'm run down. I've caught a mild cold and I feeling pretty fatigued, however if I pushed myself i could go to the gym but I don't know if i could really apply myself as much as I do when I'm 100%. I've gymed 3 days out of the past 4 and on my "day off" I did an hour yoga.
Usually I'd hit he gym tonight but I have zero motivation. Should I suck it up and go anyway, or take it easy and go tomorrow? How do you over come the guilt of taking days like this off?
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Replies
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Skip it! I know the guilt kicks in but your body needs time to recover & the 'shock' of exercise (sorry, that sounds rude) may have run you down, developing a cold. I find if you don't feel up to it, just don't go, as I feel worse after when I feel I should've done more. give yourself time to recover & then continue, just continue to watch what you are eating instead of 'comfort eating'0
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It is okay to skip a day of exercise if you are not feeling well. It is better to skip a day rather than the need to skip a week, because your condition get worsen if you force yourself too much.0
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You're sick? Stay home. Rest days are (or at least can be) good. 4 straight days of exercise - including the yoga? Sounds like a good time to take a day off, anyway - especially if you're "run down."0
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Rest and feel better! Not to mention your fellow gym mates don't want your cold!0
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Give yourself a well deserved day off Let your body rest and get back to it's healthy self! Hope you're feeling better soon!0
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Sick and skipping the gym. Should I be guilty? "WHY - DID YOU ROB A BANK"0
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Don't spread your germs around at the gym. It would be disrespectful to the others who will use the same machines. The best thing to do when you're sick is rest. You'll recover faster.0
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Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »Rest and feel better! Not to mention your fellow gym mates don't want your cold!
This
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If you aren't seeing a change (weight loss) after 2 months then you are eating too much. No reason to train harder when you can just eat a little less. I lift 3x/week and play Ultimate once per week. No crazy workout routine, no feeling guilty if I miss one of them. This week I will lift 2x and not play Ultimate and I don't beat myself up over it. I just eat a little less.0
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Feel guilty when you run over your neighbor's dog, not when you stay home to rest because you are sick. A day off, even three days off, from the gym is not going to be your healthy living downfall.0
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don't feel guilty. you are taking care of yourself.
if you really want to do something. do like a foam roller thing, or gentle stretching, or restorative yoga from an online video or if you have dvds0 -
I really appreciate all the replies. I guess what I'm really trying to say is- how do you get over the irrational guilt? But I got my answer thanks you guys!0
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nordlead2005 wrote: »If you aren't seeing a change (weight loss) after 2 months then you are eating too much. No reason to train harder when you can just eat a little less. I lift 3x/week and play Ultimate once per week. No crazy workout routine, no feeling guilty if I miss one of them. This week I will lift 2x and not play Ultimate and I don't beat myself up over it. I just eat a little less.
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Here is the deal. If you push too hard you can extend being sick. Taking a day off may give you the rest you need to feel better. Don't feel guilty if you are sick.
However, I use this basic philosophy:
1- If I am congested and it is only from the neck up, will workout (unless my nose is leaking too much then hitting gym is just gross)
2- If I feel worse when I start working out, feel sicker, I stop and go home and rest.
3- If I have chest congestion or body aches then no workout
4- Stomach issue, don't do, don't workout, just stay home cause man oh man can that get worse fast
Also if you work out at a gym and think you are contagious, the other gym goers really appreciate it if not share your germs.0 -
Big picture view: it is always selfish to go into work, work out, or otherwise interact with the public if you are sick.0
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>>>Today, I'm run down. I've caught a mild cold and I feeling pretty fatigued, <<<
It's also possible you are run down and fatigued from overtraining & that's why you are sick. Try 2 days on then a rest day.0 -
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how do you get over the irrational guilt?
The only real answer is to "think better," yes? Awareness is always the first step.
See the bigger picture beyond being in the gym. The purpose of going to the gym is to get healthier; it's just a means to an end. In your sickly circumstances, going to the gym will make you worse. So don't.
Anyways- I've found from the experience of taking two weeks off from hard lifting now and then (sick, travelling, etc.): as long as you've been otherwise consistent up until the break, it'll have made very little difference to your results when you start back.
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irishgal25 wrote: »nordlead2005 wrote: »If you aren't seeing a change (weight loss) after 2 months then you are eating too much. No reason to train harder when you can just eat a little less. I lift 3x/week and play Ultimate once per week. No crazy workout routine, no feeling guilty if I miss one of them. This week I will lift 2x and not play Ultimate and I don't beat myself up over it. I just eat a little less.
Why cut back to 1200 right away? Why not try 1400 for a month? Then 1300 if need be. Don't let that scale push you into unhealthy action. Scales are dorks. You may experience the "whoosh" of fat cells that are holding water any day now. Perhaps you have gained muscle (newbie gains or recomp). Best of luck!
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goldthistime wrote: »irishgal25 wrote: »nordlead2005 wrote: »If you aren't seeing a change (weight loss) after 2 months then you are eating too much. No reason to train harder when you can just eat a little less. I lift 3x/week and play Ultimate once per week. No crazy workout routine, no feeling guilty if I miss one of them. This week I will lift 2x and not play Ultimate and I don't beat myself up over it. I just eat a little less.
Why cut back to 1200 right away? Why not try 1400 for a month? Then 1300 if need be. Don't let that scale push you into unhealthy action. Scales are dorks. You may experience the "whoosh" of fat cells that are holding water any day now. Perhaps you have gained muscle (newbie gains or recomp). Best of luck!
Odds are that if the scale hasn't budged in 2 months, then you are either a) not logging/weighing accurately b) set a goal that is too high. Sure, if the deficit is small enough (say 0.5lb/week) it can be hidden for a long time (heck, I've gone 2 weeks without "losing" a lb at a 2lb/week rate), but that would be ~5lb by now and the overall trend should be down.
If 1500 came from MFP suggestions, I would look into your food logging first before actually cutting calorie intake. My wife swore she was eating 1200 calories and wasn't losing weight, but is now actually eating 1400 and the weight is slowly coming off (it is a rate of 1lb/week for her). The reality is that she was grazing and not logging combined with not weighing anything. Even now she is having a hard time losing, because I know she still doesn't weigh everything and she now at least admits she is going over more often then she should.
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