Sick and skipping the gym. Should I be guilty?

irishgal25
irishgal25 Posts: 18 Member
edited November 24 in Fitness and Exercise
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?

Replies

  • SuzLink
    SuzLink Posts: 32 Member
    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' :smile:
  • doralim1990
    doralim1990 Posts: 76 Member
    edited September 2015
    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.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    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."
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Rest and feel better! Not to mention your fellow gym mates don't want your cold!
  • meghaabraham
    meghaabraham Posts: 134 Member
    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!
  • urloved33
    urloved33 Posts: 3,323 Member
    Sick and skipping the gym. Should I be guilty? "WHY - DID YOU ROB A BANK"
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    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.
  • tank1539
    tank1539 Posts: 55 Member
    Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »
    Rest and feel better! Not to mention your fellow gym mates don't want your cold!

    This

  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    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.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    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.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    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 dvds
  • irishgal25
    irishgal25 Posts: 18 Member
    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!
  • irishgal25
    irishgal25 Posts: 18 Member
    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.
    Thing is, I eat less than 1500 per day and rarely eat back calories. Maybe I'll cut it to 1200 and see what happens
  • fannyfrost
    fannyfrost Posts: 756 Member
    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.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    Big picture view: it is always selfish to go into work, work out, or otherwise interact with the public if you are sick.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    >>>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.
  • irishgal25
    irishgal25 Posts: 18 Member
    bw_conway wrote: »
    Big picture view: it is always selfish to go into work, work out, or otherwise interact with the public if you are sick.

    Very true!
  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    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.
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,213 Member
    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.
    Thing is, I eat less than 1500 per day and rarely eat back calories. Maybe I'll cut it to 1200 and see what happens

    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!

  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited September 2015
    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.
    Thing is, I eat less than 1500 per day and rarely eat back calories. Maybe I'll cut it to 1200 and see what happens

    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.

  • Unknown
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  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    if you are contagious please do NOT go to the gym!
  • BeginnersBootcamp
    BeginnersBootcamp Posts: 90 Member
    Just listen to your body which I'm sure everyone will tell you. A little bit of time off will not destroy all your progress just like going to the gym once will not give you the physique you're dreaming of
  • kallemann67
    kallemann67 Posts: 92 Member
    edited September 2015
    I personally believe that one of the benefits of MFP is its much more holistic approach to fitness and weight management. I have learned by being here that the FUNDAMENTAL element if all other aspects of the management system get hung up for a moment, is remaining connected to a holistic ideology. From shopping for a HRM to reading about enhancing my nutrition- visualising a better swim stroke or watching a YouTube vid on Vitamix recipes for post work out shakes - taking the stairs instead of the escalator or winning the fight against a second piece of pie, responding to articles on MFP or relaxing on the couch for a day after a 20k run- there exists this interconnectedness which colours the map on days of low energy, stomach upsets, colds or poor time planning. This allows for what I think is a no guilt approach whereas before in my earlier years I would even get depressed about missing a workout.

    Listening to the body is paramount as others have said. We're in this to be healthy in mind, body and spirit. If the body is a bit tired or sick allow the mind or spirit to kick in a bit and enjoy! There are surprises in that. An example - my mother-in-law passed away last week. Family flew in and our house was turned upside down so my regular discipline to my fitness and weight management was placed on hold as the funeral and wake came and went. However long walks with family members instead of my regular triathlon training still equated to the body in motion.I made healthy breakfasts for our guests and introduced folks to foods that they would normally not eat. My sister even took photos of things I made because she saw that oatmeal could be more exciting than mush in a bowl. Vitamix smoothies and juices with ground flax were on the table as well as gnocchi with freshly cooked organic beetroot and smoked salmon salads. I may have missed my gym and swim for a week but it was loaded with so much more life enriching moments.

    The scale may go up a notch or two but that pales in comparison to the richness in the building of a community of wellness between family members.
  • raymax4
    raymax4 Posts: 6,070 Member
    kallemann67 wrote: »
    I personally believe that one of the benefits of MFP is its much more holistic approach to fitness and weight management. I have learned by being here that the FUNDAMENTAL element if all other aspects of the management system get hung up for a moment, is remaining connected to a holistic ideology. From shopping for a HRM to reading about enhancing my nutrition- visualising a better swim stroke or watching a YouTube vid on Vitamix recipes for post work out shakes - taking the stairs instead of the escalator or winning the fight against a second piece of pie, responding to articles on MFP or relaxing on the couch for a day after a 20k run- there exists this interconnectedness which colours the map on days of low energy, stomach upsets, colds or poor time planning. This allows for what I think is a no guilt approach whereas before in my earlier years I would even get depressed about missing a workout.

    Listening to the body is paramount as others have said. We're in this to be healthy in mind, body and spirit. If the body is a bit tired or sick allow the mind or spirit to kick in a bit and enjoy! There are surprises in that. An example - my mother-in-law passed away last week. Family flew in and our house was turned upside down so my regular discipline to my fitness and weight management was placed on hold as the funeral and wake came and went. However long walks with family members instead of my regular triathlon training still equated to the body in motion.I made healthy breakfasts for our guests and introduced folks to foods that they would normally not eat. My sister even took photos of things I made because she saw that oatmeal could be more exciting than mush in a plate. Vitamix smoothies and juices with ground flax were on the table as well as gnocchi with freshly cooked organic beetroot and smoked salmon salads. I may have missed my gym and swim for a week but it was loaded with so much more life enriching moments.

    The scale may go up a notch or two but that pales in comparison to the richness in the building of a community of wellness between family members.

    I have felt this way and attempted to say it to. But have never said it so well.
    thank you
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