Do you know anyone who can’t miss a workout day? Whether it’s a birthday, a holiday, or vacation, they must get up early (or stay up late) to get their pump on. And we aren’t bashing these people — we think their dedication is awesome — but we do believe there is something important about rest, something that isn’t often glorified or celebrated in the fitness industry.
We write about this quite frequently on the blog, but we are huge believers that mental health and wellbeing are just as important as physical health and diet. Sometimes it's important to take time off, to reset, and to rest our bodies (and for more than one day). Resting not only helps aid recovery and prevent potential injury (because we can overdo it), but it allows us to take 'gym time' off of its pedestal and focus on our wellbeing, as well as our relationships. This is especially important during the holidays as many family members and friends who we only see once a year are in town.
This is why we are taking a no-shame break from our workouts this weekend.
Exercising and keeping our bodies in shape is essential, but so is learning how to maintain a healthy life outside of our routine workouts. Resting allows us to focus on spending time with our loved ones, and it enables us to slow down - both mentally and physically.
Try spending this weekend with your journal or a new book. Spend time with your favorite people and catch up on life. Walk the dog, sleep in, and take your time cooking nutritious meals in the kitchen. And, if you want to do something active, invite your loved ones to join you on a stroll around the block or for a leisurely hike in the mountains.
We know it may seem unproductive, counterintuitive even, to shelf our fitness goals for a few days, but we promise, it’s not. By taking our minds off our performance and measurements and caloric intake, we give ourselves the rest we need - rest that is beneficial and proven to pay off when we step back into the gym.
So take time for you this weekend. And spend time with the people you love. The gym and your food scale will be there on Tuesday. For now, have a very merry and restful holiday weekend.
