Remember how I mentioned wanting to go for a run yesterday afternoon? Here’s what actually happened…
What can I say? Gloomy weather, a comfy couch, warm tea, a stellar [Christmas] movie lineup — what more could you ask for in a rest day? Well, how about the ability to actually enjoy it… If you ask me, that last one is kind of the kicker.
Rest day anxiety. I feel a little funny talking about it since I haven’t had a proper workout/rest schedule for a couple of years now, but I have struggled with a serious exercise addiction in the past, and I remember wanting to jump out of my skin on those days where I wasn’t working out.
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There was a time where I worked out 7 days a week, without fail. The idea of taking a day off caused me so much grief, that I convinced myself that what I was doing was actually healthy. I mean, exercise is a great form of stress relief, right? Right. And that’s what I was doing — relieving stress. What I failed to acknowledge was that what I was actually doing was catering to an exercise addiction. I thought I loved exercise, but the only thing I really loved about it was that it would rid me of the anxiety I felt over the idea that taking a day off would cause me to gain weight.
Eventually, my body started to break down and I was forced to introduce 1, and then 2, rest days a week. It was agony — I didn’t know what to do with myself when I wasn’t planning my day around a workout or fuelling… So much extra time — what to do?! And to make matters worse, my appetite was usually out of control on those days, and a lack of exercise in addition to an increased appetite made me one big ball of nerves.
Fast forward to today — I can honestly say that I enjoy the occasional full-on lazy day, but more so than that, I enjoy not feeling like I have to work out. Don’t get me wrong — physical activity is a beautiful thing and definitely a necessary part of a healthy lifestyle — but we should be looking at it as a way to improve ourselves rather than punish ourselves. I think a big part of the reason that I’m enjoying running so much more this time around is because I’m no longer looking at it solely as a way to burn off extra calories. Me time, endorphins, accomplishment, getting stronger… that’s what I love. And on that note, I really need to update you guys on how I’m doing with the whole running thing… But I digress.
Rest days. Embrace them, they’re good for you. I didn’t write this post to highlight the benefits and importance of rest days, but to tell you that it’s okay to take them and enjoy them — it doesn’t mean you’re being lazy or unhealthy. I get a good amount of e-mails from girls struggling to overcome exercise addictions, and I know that one of the things that helped me deal with my own was seeing examples of people who were happy and healthy and not obsessive about their workout schedules. It’s possible. So, my friends, keep calm and rest.
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How do you feel about rest days?
Why do you exercise?
I’m actually on my two week rest period right now. I haven’t been running at all since the marathon and have only done a few light workouts. Honestly I don’t really miss it all. Great post and it’s so important for people to realize the importance of rest days.
Hey,
I have just come across your blog and LOVE this post. I am an international 10,000m runner from Great Britain, and I have struggled with 3 stress feature injuries in the last 12 months due to doing too many miles running and not taking enough time to relax and rest. During my last stress fracture I was forced to take 13 weeks of NO exercise which was torture for me. However it was a blessing is disguise and I took the time to work on other areas in my life, I am now a qualified PT and Pilates instructor.
I am also back competing and finished 3rd in the Great South Run a few weeks ago. I am doing less miles that before but focusing on core work and other aspects. I am aiming for the European Cross Country champs this december too 🙂
Keep up the awesome blog’s I love reading them…
Check out my blog too…www.pocketrocketrun.com
Charlotte x
I love that you called it a blessing in disguise — that’s a great way to put a positive spin on it! Good luck in all of your upcoming races 🙂
I now love my rest days but I used to not love them at all. I remember I would sometimes go a fortnight or more without taking a proper day off and I think it used to just make me really overtired and really didn’t get me ‘ahead’ in terms of any kind of results I was looking for.
Love this series you are doing <3
Whoop- love this natural movement movement lol- just relax, go with your body, never use excercise as punishment- love it Amanda! Just popping in again to say hello, I am staying with a friend who has good Internet access for the day! The children I work with show me the beauty and freedom of natural movement everyday! 🙂 rest up and feel good bella. Ciao xo
Same thing here. I worked out for months without a rest day until my body broke down. My heart rate was so low that I got light-headed all the time. Now I can’t/won’t really push myself as hard – it’s scary to think that my heart could just stop. I thought I would gain weight if I took a rest day.
Y’see this is just one of the (trillion) things I miss about being a care-free kid. These ‘seemingly’ important , life altering almost, decisions didn’t exist.
Just get up , do what you want, and see where the day takes you…ride your bike, build a forte, imaginary tea party- whatever makes you HAPPY<- good way to live.
I'm so happy you've managed to find some peace and balance with this aspect of your life Amanda<3.
Xxx
Those were definitely some great days. Moving for the sake of moving without having to call it exercise — and don’t forget jumping from couch to couch to keep yourself safe from the “lava” 😉
Thank you thank you! This is such a good reminder. I have also struggled with exercise addiction and I do my best not to compare my routine to any other fitness bloggers. I often feel like my fitness routine is so minimal in comparison to others! But I know it is what my body needs right now. Love your blog- so refreshing!
Heck yes to this! As you saw on my post from last week, I have also been embracing rest days, and more rest in general, these last few weeks and have been reaping the benefits! Not only that though, I don’t feel the insane anxiety I once used to… especially with more than one rest day per week, are you kidding me?! <– Old me. Basically I am both nodding and echoing to what you are saying here. Woot for the progress both of us continue to make 🙂
I hate rest days… but I love the extra time I get. I just have so much energy and anxiety it’s such a relief for me to get out of my own head for an hour or two.
I struggle a lot with rest. My trainer told me that after this competition I am supposed to take 2 weeks off. No gym. No lifting. I looked at hime and said “so what am I supposed to DO?” LOL!
You could always take up knitting 😆
HA! I will if you do.
I am a huge fan of rest days. Huge. In fact, I take far too many of them and have to convince myself that I don’t need 4 rest days in a row. But you deserve one so I’m glad you took one. And PS, the view out your window makes me happy.
Love this! I used to freak out over missed days or rest days, now I LOVE them!
I remember when I used to feel anxiety over rest days. Now “rest days” are the norm – weekends involve sitting 12 hours straight studying at the library. It’s interesting how drastically we change our habits sometimes – now I feel anxiety if I use time that I could studying for exercising! lol.
Amen to this post! I used to work out 6-7 days a week too and it was definitely a compulsion. I lowered it more like 5 days a week a few years ago, but I still felt a pretty strong need to work out. Then like a year and a half ago when my knee started giving me issues I started taking weeks off at a time and replacing lots of my workouts with walks – and that’s when I really felt my attachment to working out diminish. These days I work out only if I want to (which is usually 4-5 days a week), only do the workouts that I want to do, and enjoy the days where I don’t work out in their full glory. I don’t even call them rest days – they’re just normal days for me now.
I’m embracing rest days more and more these days. Maybe its the change of seasons and the colder weather or maybe its because I’ve grown to listen to my body. Often, we don’t listen hard enough or push it past its boundaries. I no longer mind the “laziness” I sometimes feel. It’s great to spend a Sunday on the couch watching Christmas movies. It’s actually my favorite place to be. 🙂
Rest days are almost equally important as workout days. When I hit the gym, I hit it hard because that’s just what I know and what I love. It’s a great source of stress relief for me and it also improves my sleep which again reduces my stress. I love the gym. I love the crazy adrenaline rush. I love the endorphin high.
I also love sitting on my couch or in front of a fire doing nothing more than reading a book, a blog or watching an occasional bad television program. While I work out most weekdays (at least now that I finally have a gym again), I don’t fret if I miss a day, and I almost always take weekends off. I’ve got too many other things I want to do (including lay on the couch and do nothing) to try to squeeze in some exercise. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
I’m still jealous over the fact that you have a -real- fireplace that crackles… my gas one is seriously lacking 🙁
You are welcome to it anytime. All you need is a book and a bottle of wine.
Great post girl! I think rest days are important & needed. I exercise because I’m trying to lose a bit of weight I’d put on and to try & change my physique a bit… BUT, I do make sure to always take AT LEAST one rest day/week. I think it’s important to find a balance & I think this might be a great wake-up call to some. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Think you’ve hit the nail on the head for a lot of people hey. Hard to snap out of that guilty ‘I haven’t worked out yet today’ feeling sometimes. But rest days are so important to prevent injuries hey, so when I think about my running goals and the enjoyment I get from running, then taking the rest days seems a sensible idea, especially as am prone to getting viruses and illnesses that then force me to take up to a WEEK off (actual shock and horror here for me). My problem with rest days is that I tend to overeat, I guess with the premise that I’m ‘refuelling’ my resting muscles. Oh well, I know that the next day I will be ‘back on track’ so it is all ok. Plus, if I am really ‘restless’ on a rest day, then I sometimes do some yoga, or general walking/cycling ot get places, so my body is still moving a bit. Trying to listen to my body with this one, and most days its all good. That’s all we can do hey! 🙂 Thanks for your post, another excellent one 🙂
My attitude towards rest days are like a roller coaster. I will go through stretches when I will have no problem taking rest days and enjoy every moment of them, then I will go through stretches where they get my nerves up and make me unable to focus on anything. Since finishing another half about a month ago I’ve been taking many more rest days compared to in the past. I have this nagging feeling that I need to get back into a more intense routine. It is always a great reminder to be told rest days are ok 🙂
Usually I avoid rest days or feel guilty when I take more than 1 a week. But sometimes I just need them because I find myself just tired and not even getting a good workout in. After a couple rest days I come back ready to go!
Rest days are just as important as the workouts
Great post…..most of this sounds all too familiar to me!!! I now make myself take 1 day a week completely off. I used to be an everyday runner too….the idea of taking a day off caused me to stress out!…or I felt like I could not eat very much that day. I too realized how unhealthy this thinking was. Funny thing is now I actually usually eat more on my reast days…not sure if I am just bored or what but I do not allow myself to worry about it either :)!
I have met gals at the gym that exercise every single day; some that take spinning class several days *in a row*. I have maintained myself to 4 days a week of primary exercise, the other 3 maybe light bodyweight (fitocracy can be fun to play with!). The only classes I take is on Saturday, barbell pump and spinning. The weekend is the only time when I’m at the gym two days in a row. It just doesn’t make sense to exercise to such a high consistency each day! I admit my body adapts so quickly now that I’m glad when I have sore muscles. But sometimes, no soreness is good too. I’m glad you enjoy rest days. They are good.
I started actually exercising almost three years ago. Lost a bunch of weight and trying to stay committed to good eating and responsible exercising. Recently my life has gone topsy turvy with my mother being diagnosed with dementia (either Alzheimer’s or Vascular). So the stress level has gone high with all of a sudden taking on an adult role over a woman that has tried to remain independent for 30 years now. I’ve had rough days and sometimes exercise doesn’t help. But I’ve started to go to a support group and for the first in my life, see a counselor primarily for handling stress. And overeating. Nothing like discovering that stress increases my desire to over eat. Must be why I can finish a jar of almond butter in two years.
That got rather personal for me. Thank you for letting me just say it all there!
Sometimes we just need a place to let it all out. Thank you for sharing — sending thoughts and prayers to you and your mom <3
I love reading your perspective and I admire it greatly. I exercise because of how it makes me feel. I do hate rest days but more because I just LOVE moving. Call me crazy but I have ants in my pants. Don’t get me wrong, the occasional “lazy Sunday” is great but I love sweating.
I’m the same way, Amy. I just find this balance in my energy when I move a bit.
Amen. It’s like you’re telling my life story.
xoxo
This was something that I struggled with for a longlonglonglonglongLONG time. When I made up my mind that I was going to recover from my ED, I knew I would have to start eating my ‘fear foods’. I was okay with that. Not 100%, but I was okay. But the exercise thing…that was different. The thought of not working out anymore scared the sh*$ out of me, and that’s not an exaggeration. I was convinced that going longer than 2 days of exercise was unthinkable, out of the question, and just plain lazy. In the beginning of recovery, I had it worked out that it was okay not to jump through hoops just to get a workout in like I did in the worst of my ED, but if my schedule was such that I ‘could’ work out, that means that I ‘should’ work out, that I HAD to work out. There was a line that I couldn’t cross. I couldn’t ‘lose control’. I couldn’t ‘get lazy.’ I still had to be ‘responsible’ for myself.
But the truth is, those anxieties weren’t doing me any good. They just weren’t. Sure, I wasn’t as stringent as I used to be about exercise, but I was still thinking about it all day long, going back and forth in my mind having conversations and arguments with myself (“Are you gonna work out today?” “You’ll have time to workout today, so you HAVE to workout today!” “You’re gonna get fat if you go longer than 3 days without a workout!” “You still have to burn off more cals than you consume!”) Blah blah blah. Yada yada yada. That wasn’t a good enough change for me. My recovery didn’t look the way I wanted it to. I was still in Hell. I still felt like that workout I had yet to do for the day was keeping me on a leash, cracking a whip and seeing how high I would jump, while still trying to call myself “in recovery” from an ED.
Then 1 day, I got off work and went home. I had time to workout. Plenty of time, actually. But I didn’t do it. Instead, I sat down and started doing something I ACTUALLY WANTED TO DO. And it felt good. SosoSO good. I went to be thinking “Wow. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.” And I did. The next day, instead of working out, I spent quality time with my family- talking, laughing, having fun….something that ED had been depriving me of for over 4 years. The days passed, one after the other. I wasn’t working out. I wasn’t sweating, burning mad calories, and killing myself on a treadmill. But I was at peace- a kind of peace that I can’t even put into words. That peace was only further magnified after 14 days of not working out, when I got my period back after an absence of over 1 and 1/2 years. My body was crying out for me to keep calm and… rest, so that it could actually start functioning the way it was supposed to.
I’m still not working out right now. I have no idea when I’m going to start again. And I don’t care. But I do know that it’s never going to be under the shadow of fear, obligation or legality ever again. It’s okay to give yourself permission to just rest. You’re not being lazy. You’re not committing a crime. And nothing- NOTHING- bad is going to happen.
(sorry for the rant-like comment, but this is really close to my heart, so I wanted to share what was on my mind)
<3
THANK you for sharing your story, girl! It’s so incredibly motivating, and you’re right — the feel-good feeling that comes with doing what you want becomes completely addicting over time. It boggles my mind how much happiness we steal from our own lives by forcing ourselves to do the things we don’t want to do…
I love your photo with the mug and the tree through the window… Ah… I love this season!
And I must confess I don’t suffer from rest day anxiety right now. I’m totally off my game, fitness-wise. Maybe I’ll have to stick around your blog and get re-inspired 😉
Oh rest….
something I have still yet to fully grab on to. I try. I really really do. But sometimes I just lose that battle. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but alas, my dumb brain won the battle and convinced me to do it anyway. My body hurt, was tired, and completely low on energy, which equaled a ridiculously lame workout. I KNEW that would happen. I KNEW my workout would suck and leave me feeling even worse than before, and yet I still made myself workout. DUMB DUMB DUMB. That being said, I’m forcing myself to rest tomorrow whether I like it or not!!
Message me if you need moral support 😛
I lovee rest days! I used to think I didn’t need more than one rest day a week, but then I took two rest days in a row and on that third day when I returned to my workout I felt so incredibly refreshed and ready to go. Now I try my best to just listen to how my body feels and take rest days as needed. Especially since I do different types of workouts each day (some longer, some shorter) it makes sense that some workouts take more time to recover from. It took me some time to realize that though.
I know you did used to go for a walk everyday sometimes even on the treadmill- Didn’t you ever take a rest day from that? are the feelings and rest in general more pronounced because of the intensity of the excercise? does it differ more? Just wondering- it’s great you feel good about rest now. I haven’t done any formal training in years lol- no treadmill walks or walk a day, nada so I really feel comfortable with rest days because they are just days for me lol 🙂 xo
There were definitely days where I didn’t get a walk in, but I didn’t call them rest days because, like you said, they just felt like normal days. Most of my walks weren’t anything serious — just relaxing strolls.
I actually hope you make this into abit of a thing on spoons…keep calm and…..
This is fantastic Amanda and truly inspirational- what puts me off so much are bloggers who DON’T practice what they preach- you, however are going against that- just several weeks ago you mention starting running again, nothing overtly strenuous- its easy for you to start attacking it with gusto and running everyday. Yet you are able to reflect on past behaviours and the past relationship you had exercise and see today, embrace the days when rest is calling to you.
For me, I’m working on embracing rest days in such a regard. I exercise (lifting) because I really want to build strength and nothing beats the feeling of hitting a PR!
Do you generally run every day otherwise?
Nope, I don’t have a set schedule. Sometimes I’ll run 2 days in a row, sometimes I won’t run for 3. It all depends on how much time and energy I have.
I know I will never return to a regular work out routine. I am a high strung individual and have not exercised formally in over six years and feel better for it! That’s just me though, xo
I love rest days! My mind typically yells at me at the time (I still struggle with that) but by the next day both my mind AND my body are thanking me. Last Saturday I had a rest day with my boy where we got tea, went back to his house and spent the next FIVE hours watching Four Weddings and Say Yes to the Dress. The best part…it was his idea!
I think rest days are more gratifying when it’s cold outside and I can just snuggle up inside with a hot beverage and a blanket. So nice!
Your guy definitely sounds like a keeper 😉
I used to go to the extreme of this – my whole life was a rest day and I never exercised. I know now that it’s because I couldn’t find a form of exercise that I liked (the gym in college didn’t offer group classes, and if I had to choose between sleeping and getting on the exercise bike, sleep would win every time). Now, I enjoy exercise, but my body absolutely won’t do it more than three days in a row. On the fourth day, she rests. It works really well for me.
I definitely need to take this to heart. I find myself doing yoga on my “rest days” a lot just because I feel guilty not doing anything…not cool :/
You ALWAYS hit the nail on the head!
I used to be the same way. Pushing my body down to the breaking point and being hopeless to be around if I didn’t get my workout in, talk about addiction! Now I really enjoy my rest day(s). Usually I am not completely sedentary on these days. I love taking walks with the husband or friends and just chat, nothing strenuous and no pressure. Usually I save a lot of baking for these days too 😀
I was actually thinking about why I exercise today while at the gym and realized my whole outlook on it has shifted over the last year. This morning I woke up thinking and feeling about accomplishing a long run and was actually getting excited about it and not dreading the “I can’t leave until I do it” voice in my head. Why did I want to? Not because I had to but because I wanted to see if I could do it (more of a personal goal). And it was so nice not to feel the overriding guilt as I ate and ENJOYED my lunch afterwards 🙂
Over exercising is one of my biggest issues with my ed. I woke up at 3:30 this morning and exercised until 6:30 only to be so mentally and physically exhausted and feeling worthless. I’ve done this everyday for 4 months now as I push against all the food I am required to eat. I know that this is only prolonging my recovery and causing me to be even more miserable. Hopefully one day I can get to where you are. You are so beautiful and inspirational. I aspire to live my life in the wonderful way that you do. Thank you for sharing your story with me.
Well, I have to say you dont give me the easiest time to vary the beginnings of my comments on your blog … Thank you for another great post! Or: yes, yes, yes! Oh, the dreaded rest day … Another one of those “easier said than done” things. I can’t deny I still struggle with rest days though I -do- take them. What has helped me is schedule them because I like to have a plan to follow and if the plan says “rest!” it’s easier. Maybe ridiculous but it works [most of the time]. Those unplanned, sponatenous rest days like the one you’re talking about, however? Not easy for me still. I can never shake off the thought that “somebody else wouldn’t have taken that rest day and found a way to work out in anyway”. But then again there will always be somebody somewhere doing more.
What bugs me is when I see others talk about their “active rest days” meaning they’re still attending a 90-minute Yoga class or something like that. Sorry but is that really resting? I’m not so sure.
There was a time when I exercised to eat. Or better yet: to eat and not feel [as much] regret about it. Looking back that’s obviously a sad reason to work out. Nowadays it’s because exercise is making me feel good about myself, strong, it’s relaxing, refreshes me, gets my thoughts flowing, … So yes, like you said: to improve myself. Not just physically but – mentioning the creativity boost – in general. But then again I find myself relying on exercise too much again at times like right now that I’m not working. That’s when I feel the need to exercise to have that one huge accomplishement in my day and this however makes rest days seem so so lazy. Sorry for the ramble. My relationship with exercise is way better than it used to be but I’m still a work in progress in that area, too.
I’m glad to hear that you’re doing better 🙂 I think the blog world skews our perception of exercise because it seems like EVERYONE works out all the time, but when you really think about it, that’s a really small subset of the population. If you look around at the people around you, they’re more likely than not a LOT more relaxed about exercise and don’t follow such a strict plan. It helps to keep that in mind when you’re struggling with rest.
It’s ineteresting you used that first image because I have been seeing so many similar ones on Instagram and to me (maybe because my background) ALL I think of is rest day anxiety and etc. and how much it sucks, whereas the people who post these things seem… kind-of proud? Maybe it is a more light-hearted feeling than the guilt and anxiety you write about here and that I have dealt with in the past….
or maybe it’s just another hazard of fitness instagrammers and blogs? IDK.
Anyway. Great post. Rest days. It’s okay.