Take a break

Today is day two of my two day break.  Having lifted for many days back to back; I was feeling the need for a break.  Rest days are so important when you work out on a regular basis.  I try to always take a day, workout for two.  But that doesn't always happen if I'm in a zone.  You will hear from all directions "go, workout, don't stop, go, go, go;" but I say "whooooooooaaaaa."  Stop, you need to take a break.  Sounds easy right?  Not.  I had to talk myself into NOT going to the gym.  The workout mode was winning, so I pulled out my laptop to write.  I don't want to go today, I really didn't want to; I need a rest, a two day rest.  Slowly the "I'm not working out today" vibe sunk in.

Rest is very important when you work out hard.  If you go to the gym and just sort of float around; hop on the tread mill for a bit, then do a few crunches and leg lifts then rest isn't all that important.  But, if you are really working your muscles, you have to rest them so that they can heal.  When you lift heavy, you break down your muscles.  You need to rest them so that they can heal, build and become stronger.  When you take a couple of days to rest, you come back stronger.  I love the power that I have after a couple rest days, there is nothing like it.  But like I said, we sometimes have to force ourselves to take those rest days.

Live healthy on rest between lifting.  

Rest is one reason why dividing your body into sections is a good idea once you get into a more intensive lifting regime.  You cannot train the same muscle two days in a row.  By dividing yourself in half or into certain muscle groups you give your muscles a day off all the time.  I workout my upper body and lower body separately.  This means that every other day, a half of me is resting, sort of.   By working out my upper and lower halves of my body on separate days I can really focus on each section.  It also means that if I lift really hard that I won't have a whole sore body.  Plus, there is no way that I would ever have the time or energy to do a full body work out.  Like I said before, I am in and out of the gym really quickly.  No hanging around for hours for me.

Rest days are as important as working out.  If you over train and never rest you will actually be doing your body a disservice.  No rest can lead to burnout which leads to not going to the gym anymore.  Not a good thing; you need a break, take it.  It can also lead to a plateau in weight loss; sleepless nights and sheer exhaustion.  Rest, take a day or two and just chill.  Do you for you, your body needs it.