Today is the last day to enter my I Am Brand running shirt giveaway! I will announce the winner in Monday’s post.

2013 12 31 14 12 17

I wore my shirt for my treadmill run the other day and it did awesome! You don’t want to miss out! Please ignore how creepy I look in this picture it’s the best I could do. HA!

 

The weekend is here! I hope everyone is able to relax and enjoy it!

Today is going to be my first “longer” run and when I say that I mean 4-5 miles. My “long runs” sure have changed! I’m ready for it though because with each push I get a little bit stronger. 

 

Yesterday I actually took a rest day. I had already scheduled to rest, but I kept playing with the idea of heading to the gym to get one quick sweat session in.  I could have gone and I would have been fine, but I opted to give my leg a day of complete rest before tomorrow. Hopefully it will be worth it!

2014 01 01 19 05 38

I wouldn’t say it was quite as restful as my cat’s was, but I at least took a break from they gym!

 

Rest days are hard for me. If you have been following me since before my stress fracture you will know I was never good with rest days. I always wanted to get SOMETHING in regardless of how small.

I am trying to learn from my mistakes. It doesn’t mean I can’t go lift weights if I feel like it, but it does mean that I need to know when my body is warning me.

 

Signs Your Body Needs a Rest Day

 

I have started to recognize the signs that are telling me that I need to take a rest day.

1. Fatigue/Exhaustion

2. Extreme Muscle Tightness

3. Unfocused

4. Feeling like the only reason I am doing it is because I HAVE to work out

 

I used to think some of these were normal before my injury. I used to push my body through fatigue, really painful muscles, and just kept telling myself I HAD to get a workout in. I have learned that these signs above aren’t always normal. Of course there are days where I lack motivation and that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t work out, but when I completely cannot focus and am feeling exhausted I know my body needs a REAL recovery day.

Even though I still deal with some of those demons now, I am able to tell myself it is OK to stop and take a break. That my body will thank me for it during my next workout.

My husband never takes a rest day, and it works for him. My body on the other hand needs at least one per week and I am finally understand that.

 

Off to the gym for me. I took my rest day and now it is time to get back to work! 🙂

 

Do you take a rest day?

How many do you take per week?

Pin It on Pinterest