I’m sure you’ve heard this before: You must take a week off from working out every month or two. After all, workouts are supposed to be hard on the body, so regular breaks are necessary for recovery. But because of how our culture is set up, it can be difficult for people to truly let their bodies rest—especially those who work out regularly and have a lot of anxiety about not being active enough. But we can’t say enough that occasionally taking a week off from working out has benefits and is critical for your success!
Still, I’ve found that taking that time off helps me get through my next round of workouts more easily than if I don’t have a break at all! Here’s how you can make sure your own schedule supports regular rest days as well:
Taking A Week Off From Working Out Is Fine
You’re not a machine. You need to rest and recover from your workouts, so your body can get stronger. If you don’t take a week off at some point, it could lead to injuries, making it harder for you to get back in shape again!
Your body also needs time to heal and repair itself after the stress of working out each day. When you work out every day without taking any days off, your muscles become more susceptible to injury—and they might not be able to repair themselves as quickly as they could if they had the rest needed between workouts. This is especially true if your overall fitness level isn’t very high yet; then even light exercise can be too much stress on certain parts of the body (like joints).
You Need Mental Rest
If you’re trying to lose weight, you may wonder why many people recommend taking a break from working out. The answer is simple: you need mental rest. When we work out, our brain constantly gives us feedback about our body’s state. This can help us stay motivated, but it also makes us think about our workouts more often than necessary—even when we aren’t doing them!
You Want A Better Workout When You Come Back
One of the benefits of taking a week off from working out is that it will affect your body in many ways. You will be more motivated to work out, more focused on your work, and feel better about yourself. When it comes time for your next workout session, this can help motivate you to push harder and give it you’re all!
There is no doubt that taking a week off from working out can be beneficial for your overall health and well-being. Some great benefits of taking a break from the gym include feeling refreshed after not exercising for some time, feeling better about yourself once again, and getting ready for what lies ahead during the rest of summer!
Do Not Fear Gaining Weight
You might gain weight. If that’s the case, don’t panic. You can lose it again with a little bit of extra effort. Is this an optimal way to look at things? No, it is not—but it’s realistic and may help you get through this week without unnecessary stress.
If you’re worried about gaining weight:
Do more weight training than usual! This will keep your muscle mass intact while building some fat (which isn’t necessarily bad).
Do more cardio than usual in addition to the weight training above (e.g., 30 minutes of running after every hour of weights). This will burn off the extra calories while maintaining muscle mass.
Try A Less Stressful Activity
If you don’t want to completely stop all activities, try a less stressful activity, like yoga. Taking a week off from working out doesn’t mean you always shave to stop all activities, sometimes you need to change it up a little. It’s easy to start practicing yoga, and you can take it slow to help give your muscles a break. Yoga is a great exercise and works your muscles differently than working out at the gym. Making this change every so often can help prevent you from hitting plateaus in your workouts and can be a welcome change in pace to normal weight lifting!
Write Down Your Goals
This is where you start to get specific about what you want to achieve. Write down your goals, what you want to improve, the things that are important to you, and the things that you want to change. When it comes time to take a week off from working out, it’s good for your brain to write these down so that once the week is over, they’re still fresh in your mind. If not now, then when?
Recharge And Refresh
Getting some time off from the gym, even if it’s just for a few days, can help you recharge and refresh. With all the workouts out there, it’s easy to feel like there is always something new to try. But sometimes, the best way to get your body back into shape or keep it that way is by taking a break. You may want to spend this time doing something different than what you normally do at the gym: maybe go on walks outside or try yoga instead of lifting weights.
Keep An Eye On Your Stress Levels
While it’s easy to get busy and forget about your workout routine, it’s important to remember that your body is still working when you put off working out. It’s doing things like digesting food, repairing cells, and keeping you alive. While these tasks are important for survival, they are also energy-consuming—which means the more you burn up in these processes instead of movement or activity (like exercise), the more weight you could potentially gain.
This isn’t just about losing weight—it’s also about maintaining a healthy lifestyle overall. Several factors can contribute toward this goal: eating healthy foods in moderation; getting enough sleep at night; managing stress levels; staying hydrated throughout the day by drinking lots of water, and maintaining a consistent workout routine to not lose muscle mass or endurance gain from previous workouts.
When You’re Ready, Get Back At It
If you’re a regular exerciser, taking a week off from working out is probably not something that comes naturally to you.
But if it has been several weeks since your last workout and you’ve been feeling increasingly stressed out and unmotivated, then relaxing for a week or two is probably helpful for your health.
You don’t have to worry about losing all of your progress—it’s normal for muscle memory (the part of the brain that helps us repeat physical movements) to fade after just three days of inactivity. That said, if you plan on exercising again soon after taking a break, there’s no need to stress too much about how much muscle loss might occur while relaxing in bed with Netflix.
The important thing is ensuring that when it comes time to get back into shape again and ramp up your workouts after this week off, whether hitting the gym or running outside: You’re ready for it!
Conclusion
You can take a week off from working out and still be healthy, strong, and fit. It’s important to remember that your body will recover from this break, but it also needs time to rest. Don’t feel guilty about taking a break from your normal routine!
