REST: It’s Okay to Take a Day Off 

Today I woke up and felt pretty worn out. Worn out physically, mentally, and emotionally. (Things are totally great over here- I just have pregnancy hormones raging times 100!)

 Today, the only workout that sounded appealing was making my breakfast and that is just what I did.

Sometimes, our bodies just need rest. And you know what, it is okay! I’ve come to the realization that runners are weird (okay, I already knew this…) and we (I?) feel as if we need to push ourselves every single day, otherwise we feel that dreaded sense of guilt.  However, over the years running had taught me (and this pregnancy) a couple things…

1. You are not lazy if you let your body take a rest day from running or any other form of exercise. It is so tempting to think that allowing our bodies to rest will undo all of our hard work, but in fact, rest does just the opposite. Rest rebuilds the muscles that are broken down during exercise! Rest not only feels good for your body, but strengthens our bodies!

2. Rest makes us not only physically stronger, but also mentally stronger. Again, because runners are weird, I know most of my running friends (and I) find it harder to take a day off running than to pull ourselves out of our warm bed and run miles before most people wake up. Yes, it is strange. But, yes, it is a real thing. Rest days help us stay disciplined and mentally tough. I can be disciplined and run, but sometimes, I struggle with practicing discipline in allowing my body to rest…(did I mention runners are strange?)

So today, I am enjoying treating my body to a day off; a day to re-cooperate, to rebuild, and to mentally recharge for the busy weekend ahead of me. There will always be a run tomorrow or another plank routine to accomplish, but for these twenty four hours, baby T and I will be resting and loving it.

You Share

1. Are rest days hard for you?

2. How many days off of exercise do you take a week?

3. What did your workout look like today?