Sometimes you need a day off from your exercise routine. Sometimes you don’t really need a day off, but you take one anyway. If you have a number of anxieties about what exercise means to you, you may spiral into worry or guilt:
- Am I a slacker?
- Am I losing all my gains?
Of course you’re not! A day off doesn’t define who you are but it sometimes makes you feel exercise guilt.
What Is Exercise Guilt?
Exercise guilt is feeling guilty regarding skipping a workout or taking additional time off from your workout routine. At times, you’re just tired and need to take a day off. Perhaps you have a nagging injury which is keeping you out of the gym. Do you feel guilty about it?
If you are suffering from exercise guilt you don’t take the time that you need without feeling guilty about it. Guilt is an emotion which is based on a negative outcome from something that you did or didn’t do. We feel a sense of guilt about doing the “wrong” thing or not doing the “right” thing.
The Reality Is The Body Needs Rest
The body needs to recuperate from exercise sessions. Recuperation is every bit as essential as exercise itself. Overtraining is when you exercise without enough recuperation. The body breaks down and doesn’t heal. Sometimes you need to take an extra day to rest and recuperate. If you have an injury you may need to take more time. The crucial element is to find the right amount of exercise for you.
Letting Go Of Missed Workouts
Stuff will come up in life which you aren’t able to avoid, and your training schedule could be knocked out of line as a result. If for some reason or another you aren’t able to make it in time for a regularly scheduled workout, just let it go. Many of the runners out there won’t even consider that as an option. Instead of moving on from the missed run, they find a way to make it fit, even if that means moving other plans in order to work it in.
Focus On Consistency
A great part of the reason one day doesn’t make much of a difference is that, in the long run, what really does matter is stability. If you’ve been accomplishing all your workouts for weeks on end, and this week you have to miss one, you are still the type of person who frequently hits all their workouts.
Perhaps you’re afraid that this one day off will send you down a slippery slope, and you’ll end up taking more days off. Well, that’s totally within your power! Decide on how and when you’ll get back on that horse. Plan out your schedule for tomorrow, or for next week, and ensure you’ll be able to make those next sessions.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
If you are eager to discover more about exercise then you need to do our Personal Training Diploma. Follow this link to find out more.