Something I haven't really ever touched on in my blog is REST. I'm not sure what place rest finds itself on most peoples list of priorities, but it's on the top of mine. I've learned that I don't function half as well if I haven't had 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Also: if I push myself to death and work out hard every morning and go for a bike ride or jog every evening, I don't see results. Honestly, this is what happens.
Yesterday, I was forced to sit out a workout. I have what I'll call a "wonky right hip, ankle, and lower back" that sometimes decides to freak out. The ankle usually is stiff in the morning for a few minutes (due to an injury as a teenager), the lower back occasionally throws a fit when I sleep on it wrong, and my hip, well, it just decides to join the party at complete random, as far as I can tell. THE POINT: they're all a mess right now and I finally made it to the chiropractor yesterday.
Today... Well. Today I'm sore. Not like I was yesterday, where I was gimping around and my back was tossing me little sharp pains every few minutes. Sore like I tried a new work out yesterday. Good sore. But I've decided if I don't work out two days in a row, I will
probably not gain 1,000 pounds and lose all of my muscle mass. And I'll be ready to jump back in feet first tomorrow.
I'm straying from the point. Again. Here's what I'm trying to say.
REST IS IMPORTANT. Shut off the iPhone, the TV, the laptop, the iPad, Kindle, whatever at night and go to bed for as long as you can. Drink some chamomile tea before you nod off and if you're like me, it'll keep you dozing all night.
RECHARGING IS IMPORTANT. If you need to take a day off of your regular fitness routine, do it. Come back strong and pain-free tomorrow. And personally, I will not work out seven days a week. Even when I did my 30+ days of working out, some days were just a 10 minute workout or a 20 minute stroll. You should not burn yourself out. It does you no good.
That being said, NOT USING REST OR RECHARGING AS EXCUSES IS IMPORTANT. I'm not saying that in the morning, you should hit your snooze button 43 times and say, "Well, I need my rest," or when you feel good sore from a work out say, "Well, I'm sitting this out tomorrow." I'm saying be honest with yourself and know when you need to push yourself and when you need to pull away for a day.
(On an unrelated note... Who is happy that it's almost WEEKEND TIME!?!?)
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