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

Wonderful post! We all need to be reminded of this from time to time. I am probably the worst offender as I have been known to go overboard with exercise. My only fear being that once I stop I won't start again. I think after 8 years of continous exercise that I don't have to worry about that anymore.

I recently took a 10 day "forced" rest and realized that it did wonders for me. When I got back to working out, I found out that I was stronger and had more endurance. I didn't even check my weight but by the looks of it, I didn't put on any weight at all. Incidentally at my boot camp class last night, some guy told me that he could see my ab muscles under my shirt and it looked good!!! That's worth a rest day every now and then!!
 
Here here!! <Applause>. I completely agree.

Now, could someone please answer Meredith's question about how to find the line between challenging yourself, and not pushing too far? That's my dilemma exactly.

Sandra
 
Yep, it is so true! When recovering from hip surgery, I could do nothing but walk, I lost 10 pounds and got leaner. The lesson?

I love intense workouts like everyone else, but can no longer do the high impact things in workouts like Imax, so I do what I can and forget about it. I have cut back on my workouts, once a day, either cardio or a form of resistance training-The Squeeze workout has been a lifesaver for me and it works. I still do Cathe workouts, but in moderation.And I take off at least 2 days a week, I still walk my dog and things like that, but if I need a rest I lay down a snooze now!

I read which workouts everyone was doing last weekend and about died! And I am a former bodybuilder! For a second I felt really bad about myself and how "lazy" I must be compared to most of you guys.

So thanks Debbie for posting this, I feel better now and understand the reason I had to have my hip replaced is because I have always overexercised-for the past 10 years, so I guess I am all about being a little more gentle with myself now, I used to push through bad pain and it finally took its toll. That is simply my experience, I am not saying that is how you all are!:)
 
Hey Deb, you are so right and this is a good reminder for everyone. I'm approaching menopause and just recently had a hormone profile done and am in the middle of a detox diet. The doctor warned me at the start that I probably needed to lighten up on the workout schedule as my body needs time to rebuild and adjust. Sometimes with very intense exercise, we don't allow the body to fully recover/rebuild and the body trys to play catch-up. Moderation and balance are coming back into my vocabulary.

Deb
 
I was just thinking some more about this thread (while I'm supposed to be working... ;-) ), and decided I would add a bit more.

Not too long ago, I decided I was going to have the perfect body. How? I was going to literally work my butt off. During the week, I'd only be able to do about an hour a day (all five days), but on weekends, my workouts easily stretched to three hours. I'd do cardio (usually an Imax) and abs each day, and then Saturday I'd do a full hour of upper body weights and Sunday a full hour of lower body weights.

At first it was a fun challenge and I was excited. But then I started feeling panicked about trying to fit it all in, and never having time to do anything else on weekends. And THEN I started having knee problems simply because I was working them too hard. Once the knee issues started, I knew I had to change things up.

So I cut back. And I had to learn modifications for several excercises because of the knee problem. Even today I can't do regular barbell squats because they put too much stress on on knee.

But even though I cut back, I didn't loose any muscle. I feel more rested because I actually have time to relax on weekends. I don't have the perfect body and never will, but at least I still have most of my knees... :p

Okay. Sermon over.
 
Very sound advice & helpful comments. I take at least one rest day each week but sometimes 2. My DH & I work on personal construction projects nearly every weekend but we usually only work on Saturday. I also don't think I'm far from needing a little more of an extended break. Thanks so all of you & I hope everyone takes this advice & listens to their bodies!:)
 
I have been on self induced leave from this forum for awhile. It is nice to come back and read your post Debbie. It does grow tiresome to continually see all the the eat this/don't eat that/exercise your ass off posts. I take my rest days physically AND MENTALLY and I am better off for it! Anyway, you post was very nicely put and much appreciated.:)
 
Thank you Debbie for starting this post

I wish i would have listened to my body, and spent all day in ER to find out i have slipped discs. It is crucial, rest and recovery that is to fitness. I wish i would have taken my own advice. A forced rest is never as fun, and much more painful.
A good training routine includes resistence, cardio, flex and rest, i have learned my lesson!
Take care everyone,
Steph
 
I admit that it is hard for me to take a rest day beyond my one day per week scheduled day. The only time I am OKAY with it is when I really feel cr@ppy but otherwise I consistently beat myself up over taking an extra day regardless of why it happened. Logically I know that one extra rest day here and there is not going to cause me to immediately gain 5 pounds and lose muscle tone but it doesn't matter. I still get mad about it!x( I have considered attempting a 5 day per week rotation as opposed to the 6 days per week I have been doing for several years now. Perhaps with the new 4 day split coming out and with my HM coming up in less then a month, I should consider trying it starting in late October-post HM that is. Wish me luck!;)
 
What a wonderful thread to start Debbie. I very rarely post on this forum but I just have to thank you for this post. Let me tell you what happened to me because I was worried that I wasn't doing enough in my workouts. A friend of mine who also loves Cathe made me feel like a piece of crap because I only had my step at 6" when I was working out. So naturally I had to prove to myself that I could keep up with her and I put my step up to 8". It never occurred to me that she is over 20 years younger than I am and maybe this wasn't a smart move. Well guess what happened? I fell doing Imax2 (my favorite) and badly strained my calf muscle. I had to take 5 MONTHS off from doing any kind of cardio. I was beside myself so I decided that I would just up my strength training during that time. That's exactly what I did and guess what? I did not gain back the 50 lbs that I lost 8 years ago! AND my orthopedist wanted me to meet with a physical therapist who is also a trainer and when I told him that I strength trained every morning and then did cardio every afternoon for 5 straight days he told me I was nuts! He said that is way too much cardio and any muscles that I'm gaining, I'm going to lose by doing too much cardio. So I think this was meant to happen just to prove to myself that I don't have to sweat every single day during the week. I now do 3 days of cardio and those 3 days I do so much better than I had when I was doing 5 days!!

Sorry to be so long winded but if this helps anybody else or keeps anybody from getting injured like I did, then that makes my day!
I just can't wait until the day that I can try Imax2 again and it might be without any risers!!!!

Bev
 
Thanks Debbie for the very thoughtful reminder that I think alot of us need!

For me personally, it couldn't come at a better time! I'm going on a work/pleasure trip the week after next and have decided to take a whole week off from exercise. And, I'm ashamed to say that I haven't taken a complete week off in over 2 years. ( There have been weeks where I've taken it easy, but never did "totally nothing")

I know its the right thing to do for my body and also for the mental break of not having to figure out how to schedule it in.

Thanks again for the reminder that we really do need time off and that our bodies deserve it!!

Take care, Lynn M.
 
This is so timely for me as I'm taking an unplanned rest day today. It's hard for me, though, and was thankful to see this post as a reminder of why it's important to listen to our bodies and not keep on pushing ourselves hard!

Thanks to everyone! :) :)
 
Okay Debbie....You must have been speaking to me. I have been folowing Cathe's Sept. rotation and it has a lot of cardio in it plus I run 3 times a week. I have been quite tired and a little grouchy this week. I think my body is trying to tell me something and yet I continue to push myself.x(

I, Gin, promise (with my right hand up) to take a rest week in the very near future. Thank you Debbie for reminding me that it is okay and necessary.

Gin:)
 
You guys are awesome :) Big ((hugs)) to everyone. I think we ALL need reminders every now and again, myself included.

I just know that when I am rested, I feel better, I'm happier, and I look forward to my workouts. Sounds so simple, right? I think it's probably one of the hardest things to figure out for us exercise 'crazies' ;)


Debbie


Brain cells come & brain cells go, but fat cells live forever.
 
I think very often we work harder than is really necessary. Two years ago I was very overweight. I prayed for the Lord to help me to lose the weight, a doable plan of exercise. He did. The weight came off steadily with walking on a treadmill, pilates (Denise Austin) and cutting my portions.

I have continued to get more fit, adding Cathe, Cardio Coach and Kimberly Spreen to my workout time this past year. But I find myself dealing with perhaps some overtraining symptoms lately. So I have accepted that I am probably overdoing it, especially for someone who never exercised before two years ago. I have gradually seen that I can eat whatever I want and not blow up. I can take two rest days a week when I need them, and nothing major happens to me. I almost always take at least one. I am also stretching a lot more.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to chime in that I think your post is a timely reminder for all of us to take care of ourselves and encourage each other. :)

Sandra
 
I am another one who obsessively exercised ~ I ran in any kind of weather and through any kind of pain and wound up being taken out of the game altogether after developing AT. I learned my lesson the hard way that I need to listen more closely to my body and know when to say when. Years later, I'm now pretty good about finding balance in life and just rollin' wit' it, but I must admit, I do sometimes feel like a wuss when I read about the way-intense daily workouts of some of our fellow Catheites. So, thanks, Deb, for the reminder that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing and that we ought not compare ourselves to others. Here's to challenging ourselves but knowing our limits!

http://www.freesmileys.org/emo/merv/superman.gif

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
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