It is okay to rest. Your body will thank you.

B

Boybert

Cathlete
Hey all. I am the first one to admit I am guilty at times of not giving my body adequate rest, and I do feel it later. I become exhausted, grumpy, burned out, and so on. It has taken me much trial and error to not overdo, and sometimes I still don't get it right. However, I try my hardest these days to give my body two days off a week because of the intensity of my workouts. It helps...tremendously.

The reason I am writing this is because I am seeing more and more people on here that work out through feeling horrible, exhausted, etc, and thinking they just need to push through. I also think this board isn't always the greatest in terms of fueling this need (though don't mistake me - I love this board tremendously) because people feed off of each others habits, maybe without even thinking.

My point - your body NEEDS to rest from all the working out we do. Especially because most of us do some pretty intense workouts. Your body can't repair muscles & stimulate growth without it. Muscles, joints, and so on start to break down and you are defeating what you are trying to accomplish. You are really doing a disservice to yourself. Same can be said with eating. If you do too much and eat too little, your body will slow itself down and most likely refuse to budge in terms of positive growth.

Look, I love this board so much and have met some really wonderful people on here, which prompted my desire to just put this out there. Take care of your bodies, you guys, because no one else can do it!!


Debbie


Brain cells come & brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
 
Debbie, thank you! You're absolutely right. Like you, I've had to discover this through a lot of trial and error. And after a number of annoying injuries, I've finally learned to be more careful and listen to my body. But sometimes I still don't listen close enough. Sigh. I'm definitely an advocate of at least one rest day every week.
 
A very well-thought out and clearly written original post - and I agree with it wholeheartedly as well!

Susan L.G.
 
Debbie, you are the voice of reason. You're much too nice to say it, but I'm in the throes of PMS and I'll say anything: these forums occasionally remind me of those anorexic websites you hear about where teenage girls compete with each other for who can starve themselves more, and give each other tips on how not to eat. Over-exercising can be as much an obsession/compulsion as any eating disorder, and can be just as bad for you. More posts like yours are needed, Deb. There. I've said it.
 
Nancy,
I find myself struggling with exactly what you've said. I have noticed that I've been spending way too much time on this forum comparing my workouts to what others are doing and making myself feel weak and lazy at times if I feel like I'm not working out to the capacity that others are or if I'm taking a rest day when others aren't. These are great boards but I think I need to re-evaluate why I'm a part of them.

Allison
 
Very well said!! I too have learned over time to respect my bodies need for rest. It was hard to do at first, but I have learned that I get better results when I listen to my body. I used to beat myself up for taking an extra day off if I was too tired or didn't feel good. What I found was taking that day usually made me perform better the next. And Nancy, you are so right about over exercising being just as much a problem as an eating disorder. Let's all listen to our bodies more!!

[font color= purple size=+3]Catherine[/font]

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http://www.picturetrail.com/fit_fairy

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Nancy,

I read your post and I would have to agree. For the most part I like the friends I have made here and ignore the posts which you have described. I like sharing recipes and humor too! I found out a long time ago that the starvation method doesn't work for me; I hope others figure that out too! :)
 
Wonderful post. I am on my second day of rest and I feel great. I am only doing 30 mins of classical stretch a day and I added 90 mins of sleep to my schedule. No more falling asleep at the wheel (and I'm not kidding)!

I ordered a couple of yoga dvds: Yoga for Happiness and one of Shiva Rea's dvds. I'm really excited to try them out. I plan on doing a rotation with just yoga and easy cardio in a month or so.
 
Hooray! I like this post, too.

And, I like this forum because I think Cathe is a fabulous teacher - while her workouts are intense, she also encourages balance by listening to your body to increase or decrease your effort(s). Additionally, there are some mighty funny posts here that give me a little LOL for my daily check-ins!

And, it's okay to want to be as fit as you can be, but move for the right reasons.

That's my 2 cents. Cheers to feel-good movement and rest!



Have a great day.
:)
 
Finally, a voice of reason! Debbie, I think you're right on target and I couldn't agree with your more.

Nance, there is a name for compulsive exercise -- exercise bulimia. Exercise bulimics have a compulsive focus on calories, and instead of using laxatives or forced vomiting, they purge with exercise.

I agree there should be more discussion on the boards about healthy exercise and eating habits. Sometimes it almost seems like there's a contest to see who can come up with the most extreme workouts.
 
Rest? REST? We don't need no stinkin' rest! They'll find me with a dumbbell clutched in my cold, dead hand!!!!

Ummmmmmmmm... yeah, just kidding. Deb, you are so right. It's very easy to get caught up in all the hoopla and get carried away. Particularly for those of us who are struggling with body image and eating disorder issues already. And I think there are a LOT of us.

And as for what Nancy said, I've often thought the exact same thing myself.

So, we're all being good to ourselves by working out and trying to be as healthy as we can. Let's also be good to ourselves by listening and knowing when it's too much.
 
I agree. I just find it awfully hard to figure out where the line is. I want to challenge myself and get stronger and increase endurance, and it's hard to figure out how to do that without increasing intensity and frequency. I force myself to take 1 day off a week and I hope that's good enough. I don't have any overuse injuries (right now, knock on wood, I've had so many over the years) so I guess that's a good marker. How do you gals figure out where the line is???
 
Cathe's Four Day Split should fit into this nicely....workout intensely for 4 days, and rest two, or do one or two additional lighter workouts.

Can't wait!


Cathy
 
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