"I had another mile in me!"
We've all been there, right? Who among us has not posthumously beaten a workout into the ground? Who here has not felt bad for skipping a workout altogether?
Yes, it's natural. But just like the cookies in the organic section with the words "all-natural" splayed all over their packaging, just because something is natural doesn't make it healthy.
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| Oh Kashi TLC cookies. How I wish your being all-natural made you healthy :) |
And guys? Missing a couple of workouts or having a few bad sessions every once in a while is not going to kill you -- just like going to the gym a few times a month isn't going to get you ripped!
Rest is good for you. That's important enough that it bears repeating: rest is GOOD for you!
Your muscles don't grow during your workout. The magic all happens when you're at rest in the 24-72 hours after the workout. (Side note: if you are working abs on consecutive days, you are severely short-changing your progress!)
Here's what happens when you guilt trip yourself into doing cardio even if your body is screaming "NO!", or when you force "just one more set" until you've done 16 sets for a single bodypart in a week:
-You risk injury
-You risk overtraining
-You build a negative association with exercise, which is supposed to be a stress reliever not a source of stress, remember?
-You stall your progress
-Ultimately, you burn out
So here's to days off -- and to taking the guilt out of exercise.
And here's a totally random thought I've been having lately. Would any of you all be interested in a blogger book exchange? I have an overflowing bookcase:
And while I have tried selling my used books on eBay I'm turning a profit of like...ten cents. haha. So my thought here is -- maybe have a page on the blog listing various bloggers, their e-mail addresses & the books they have to trade? And if you see one you like, e-mail them and let them know what you have that they might be interested in, and swap? Would anyone other than me actually enjoy or use that? :)
A blogger book exchange would be cool! I'd do it! :)
ReplyDeleteI love a good rest day, I almost always take Sundays off (sometimes the whole weekend!)
I am a firm believer in rest days as well. I may not always want that rest day, but typically I can't wait for it. I know that the next workout will be so much better. I have to stop myself with the "I should've/could've" run another mile. I am pretty good about not thinking that way with weights - especially the next day when DOMS set in ;-)
ReplyDeleteIf there is one thing I FINALLY learned through prep is that there is going to be good days and bad days for the gym and sometimes you NEED to rest even if your schedule doesnt say it. Listening to your body is hard, but needed.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right about resting or working muscles on alternate days- it is so important.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of the book exchange, but think it would cost too much to send stuff over! Ah well, fab idea.
Great reminder about rest! Tomorrow is my rest day and Im sssoo looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteA blogger book exchange would be awesome! I have a bunch of books just sitting around as well. Would love to send them to someone who would read them.
Love this post!! I used to work by abs EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Ummm, not any more!! I worked 'em yesterday, and today I enjoyed a day off so they can GROW and get stronger ;) haha.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder!!
I love the idea of a blogger book exchange! I don't think it's feasible to do it over the ocean. Maybe me and Maria should get our asses in gear and do one on this side of the pond...
ReplyDeleteLoved the cookie analogy too! This is something that I need reminding of a lot at the moment. I just need to be proud and pleased of the work I *do* put in, not hate on the fact that it wasn't as good as before / I didn't feel faint at the end of it / can still stand.
So, no guilt: just pride that I got out there and did something :)
HOLY CRAP WE ARE SOUL MATES!!! I literally have a stack of books on my dresser than I've been meaning to post and see if anyone was interested! I was debating if I should ask The H to take pictures while I was at work!
ReplyDeleteI agree about rest. I am a PRO at resting, so phew - one part of training DOWN.
PS, yes, I think a book exchange is a grand idea.
Distance prevents me from doing any sort of exchange (curse the Atlantic!!) but it sounds like a great idea. I've got more books than I know what to do with!
ReplyDeleteI'm the worst at resting. It seems like such a good idea early in the day, but the second it hits 7pm I start panicking that one rest day will turn into another...
I loooove this post! Very well put! So many people underestimate the importance of rest for your body AND your sanity!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Nobody needs to exercise extremely hard every single day to get in shape. Rest days and moderation are very important for overall health and for safety issues. And laying in bed some mornings is fun.
ReplyDeleteJust have a strategic plan to gradually improve. I improved each month for 2 years in a row! The inches will eventually turn into miles.
:-) Marion
i loved the correlation to not getting ripped after just a few workouts!
ReplyDeleteand i'd be down for a blogger book exchange, too!
i also like that you have walden farms next to frozen fish on your header - it shows all sides of life :)
I would love to do a blogger book exchange! I don't have tons of books, but maybe we could swap other items. :)
ReplyDeleteSo true about the natural not always equaling healthy. Clients claim otherwise - tell them lard and butter are all natural too. So is snake venom, but the food is the better analogy.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited that my arms needed a rest today. I woke up this morning and I was so sore. I jumped up and down in glee! All of a sudden I am SO into exercise!
Q: IF you know... What exercise is best to isolate the shoulder muscle and NOT work the trapezius? I have a very well developed trapezius and it only gets bigger if I do shoulders. Sometimes I feel like I use the traps when the exercise is for shoulders even when it is one where traps assist. I have tried concentrating. Maybe I am paranoid.
Great post Sable! It is amazing how they sell "healthy", but in reality nothing is healthy if you abuse it by overeating (like me). I can't buy that stuff.
ReplyDeleteI have a question, what do you mean when you said: (Side note: if you are working abs on consecutive days, you are severely short-changing your progress!)
Are you saying that working your abs on a regular basis won't improve your chances of getting ripper abs? Just curious, I want to do the right thing.
On the ab thing, I do them about 5 days a week & have for years but changing things up & never had issues but I have found my bod does tend to be different than others. I guess it may be how hard you work them each session & if your are doing a hard core ab/core workout.
ReplyDeleteI was young & stupid once & worked out 7 days a week! Now - 2 days off every week!!!! YES! It is important to take rest days & a day missed will not kill you!
Oh I did a whole post about those cookies once!
ReplyDelete@Munchberry: I also have crazy strong traps (I shrug over 200lbs....LOL last week on shoulder day someone thought I was a guy 'cuz of all the weight I had on the bar. And the hair hidden under the baseball cap probably didn't help.) The exercises I can do without recruiting traps are overhead press (shoulder press / military press) and front raises. BUT those exercises work the front delt the most and you do want to work your side and rear delts as well. I do upright rows for my side delts now -- by not shrugging at the top of the movement I can keep my traps out of the equation. And then I do lateral raises and rear delt flyes but since both of those movements do use traps, I only do shrugs every other week :) WHEW long winded answer!
ReplyDelete@Sheri: If you work your abs every day, or on consecutive days, you don't give them a chance to rest. It's the same reason you wouldn't do arms workouts on back-to-back days: if you don't let the muscles recover they won't get stronger or grow! :)
Damn, that's a LOT of books! Geez.
ReplyDeletepaperbackswap.com
Rest IS so important! And hard. But once you start actually letting your muscle grow, it makes all the difference in the next workout you have. :)
Hey Sable,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the really good answer. Heads up: I am gonna store your comment in my "Dear Exercise" page. So if you happen to go there and see your own words you won't have to wonder what is up. That way I also won't think I just came up with it myself. It is just easier for me to keep it there while I make my little cheat sheet and I MAY forget to erase it.
Thank you SOO much! You make a me so happy!
My life was extremely stagnant and I just felt like there had to be more to life. I'm going to show you the female abdominal exercise, so you can be a successful bodybuilder. The first and most important thing you need to do is get off the regular Joe's eating schedule and onto a bodybuilding schedule.
ReplyDeleteRandom, do you think you could do a post on how you train your abs?
ReplyDeleteI have always been so bad about training them ALL OF THE TIME. I know you are supposed to give them a break too..since they are a muscle...but I just feel like I should train them every.single.day. It's bad.
If you could, or direct me to some kind of article about it, I would be so thankful!!:)