Time for more wine right? #lifeisgood
"No days off". A phrase that I think many of us hear, and at some point probably most of us live by. When I first started working out, the gym became my #life. It didn't matter what I had going on I was at the #gym 7 days a week. Heck I could be sick, and as long as I wasn't dying I was there.
However, when it comes down to it if you're not giving your body time to recover you're a ticking time bomb on #injury or the results your searching for not happening. I got to the point where my workouts sucked, I didn't want to train (yet still went), & well you guessed it injured myself by straining my hamstring.
"Resting is just as important as working out because it’s an equal part of the total process required to build strength, endurance, and muscle". - NASM. If the proper rest time is not there, you are simply not giving the body time to regenerate the muscles you are tearing down. When you think about it, if you're continuously going when are you allowing your body to rest?
*Typical signs of over use, or needing a rest day include:
Fatigue
Irritable
Disrupt in sleeping patterns
Hormones become irregular
Loss of appetite
Mood swings
As of now, I take 2 rest days per week. I do not set specific days of the week for this, & I have begun to pay attention to my body on when it needs them. With that, it took me a while to find a balance on being "ok" with not going to the gym. Since implementing more rest days, I have allowed more time for hobbies or other interests to form.
My fav things to do on rest days include:
SLEEP
Yoga / mobility work
Going for a walk
Reading a good book
Taking Apollo to the dog park
Catching up on Netflix !
Cooking or meal prep if I need to
Spending time with friends I don't see that often
Massages
While I don't suggest doing absolutely nothing (more so because I myself get bored), finding #balance outside the gym is a necessity. You do not need to be lifting 7x a week to see results. In fact, I guarantee you as hard as it might be to drop down a day your body will thank you later.
What are things / hobbies you like to do on your rest days?
Sincerely,
Taryn.
Transformwithtaryn.com
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