Thanks for the permission to take time off Joel. I struggle with feeling guilty taking a break even if my body needs it. I live in China and teach college English so a great break for me is to play ping pong or badminton with my students; nothing too stressful but my body is still moving and I get to be outdoors.
Okay, so here’s the deal. Yesterday I went to the gym and before I even had the chance to mix my workout drink, I was out the door.
Why? Simple: I straight up didn’t want to be there, so I left.
You see, every so often I’ll go through a period of time when my motivation to exercise is severely lacking. I’m sure you’ve experienced it, too−despite generally looking forward to your workouts, you get to the gym and just loathe the thought of going through with the next 30-60 minutes.
My advice: leave.
Now, before getting into a more “scientific” explanation for my recommendation, let’s first examine what’s most practical.
Question: If you ever felt that way (and I’m sure you have; we all have), but then decided to “push through” and workout anyway, just how productive and effective was that workout?
Simply put, I’m willing to bet that that workout absolutely sucked and did nothing to progress you toward your goals whatsoever (in fact, as you’ll see in a minute, it probably actually took you further away from your goals), so you would have been better off leaving instead of literally wasting the time altogether.
But even beyond that, here’s something very important to consider next time you experience this type of thing:
When it comes to your body’s state of stress, there’s no more powerful assessment than assessing motivation. Everyone’s body responds differently to different exercise protocols, and because of that, certain individuals will fair better with different types of workouts.
For me, I need my workouts to be short and sweet. I just can’t do an hour plus in the gym; a couple of days of that and I already start to loathe the thought of having to workout. So, I up the intensity of my workouts to follow suit and most days I’m in and out in 35 minutes tops.
Despite this, I’ll still hit a wall every once in a while and when I do, not only do I terminate the current session (or as I did yesterday, leave before it even started), but I also take some planned time off.
And that’s my decision: I’m taking the next week off from any type of planned exercise.
Perhaps I’ll go for a walk or a moderate jog to clear my mind and de-stress at some point, but other than that, nada.
You know, we hear the term “overtraining” so much in the exercise world, and quite frankly it bothers me how often it’s misused.
There is only one real way (that matters) to determine overtraining or over-stressing, and that’s motivation (not some specific number of sets and reps that some “guru” says you can’t go over in a single session).
Your body will TELL you when you’re overtraining, and when you are, you’ll know it. You’re motivation will decrease, and you’ll stop looking forward to your workouts, plain and simple.
When this happens−when you lose your motivation to train−then you know you’re over-stressing and you need to give your body a break.
Two great ways to do this:
1) Like me, you can just take some time off. If it’s been a while since you’ve had a real “week” off from exercise, then this is the best route (for me, I don’t even know how long it’s been, so the time off will be much deserved).
OR
2) Go the “active recovery” route by dropping any and all “programs” for a week or so, and instead, just go have some fun with your workouts. Instead of having a set plan, try deciding what you’re going to do after you get to the gym. No rules, all fun. This works wonders for bringing the enjoyment back into exercise again, especially if it’s been missing from your training.
However you choose to deal with over-stressing, the take home message is this: if your desire to exercise is on the decline, pushing harder is the last thing you want to do.
Ultimately, your workouts should be fun and you should be looking forward to them; if you’re not, make the necessary adjustments to start enjoying exercise again.
Enjoy this post? Have your own way of dealing with “over-stressing”? Give me at least 150 comments and I’ll be back early next week with new VIP content!
To YOUR success,
Joel
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Thanks ,will not feel guilty in future now
Great stuff! What a relief to know that I dont have to grit my teeth through a workout because I really can’t be motivated at all! I used to think I was not giving it my best!
What you say is so true. It’s not possible for me to make much of my workout if I pushed through it when I didn’t feel like it. There will be some days in the month when I can;t be bothered at all! It’s good to know that my body is just telling me to rest. Now, I don’t feel like there are disadvantages to working out.
I always felt like there will be days where I will want to workout and I will and feel so great afterwards because of how much I put into it. And then I would be worried about the days I didnt want to at all. Those days I would literally have to push myself through it. I would always be so worried because if that happened, my desire to workout would gradually declined.
But it’s so true that our bodies know what it needs and we dont need someone else to tell us that we are overtraining. Our own body will tell us. So its a relief to know that next time when I cant be bothered it doesnt mean I lack motivation or I am lazy, I just need to rest. Now, I have a greater insight and I am more determined to live healthier without any doubts!
Thank, Joel!!!
Of course, I know when I’m overtraining I wont sit on my butt for days without getting some activity!
Hey Joel,
Your advice makes a lotta sense than so many of these so called self help gurus and others…. Now when i skip a workout day my conscience will breathe easy..
Thanks a million!!!
Great advice and often not used!
If it happens to me i usually will do some light mobility work and stretch all the muscles that seem tight (usually a lot of them!) then call my Massage therapist. The next 2 days are then spent swimming, stretching and pimping up my diet. The result is normally i fell 10 times better for the mini-break and also stronger.
Recovery is vital to progress. If you train hard you need to recover smart.
Hi Joel,
wow, I never thought of it like that. I always felt guilty for skipping a workout. But now, thinking back on those skipped workouts, I realize you’re right. I was either stressed out or I was skipping a workout that was more a “necessary evil” in my mind than fun.
With this realization, I can now make the right changes.
Thanks!
he Joel,
you are so right, I think I will start doing some exercises I usually don’t do. just talk to the people and have fun for an houre,
thanks,
Hi Joel, yep what you say is very true!! I have been teaching group training classes (3 per day) for the last 24 years. I take 2 weeks holiday in June and 2 weeks in December. I always come back feeling refreshed. And not guilty at all.
Thanks for all the e-mails. I absolutely enjoy all the information.
Hey Joel taking a week off is great advice. As a matter of fact I’m in the middle of one of those weeks off. I enjoy my workouts, but the last two weren’t much fun, so here I am in the middle of my week off. I’m actually starting to miss my workouts already, so the week off works for me! I WILL be ready to start back up in 3 days!
Great! It’s nice to know that I’m doing the right thing when I occasionally decide that I can’t face the gym. I’ve pushed on and worked out a couple of times and I always had a bad session. In fact it usually takes me two or three more sessions to get back on track after!
NIce suggestions….i do feel the same way sometimes when i get up in the morning….this advice is much appreciated.. :-)
Thanks Joel, I always found myself feeling guilty and then trying to make up for it other days which then stressed meout further and became a vicious circle!
I’ll bear this in mind next time I feel like a day off.
Hi Joel, I absolutely agree we need time off, but what happens when your body decides he is taking a LONG time off, and be sick all the time? I want to exercise so badly, but my physical condition the past two weeks hasn’t allowed me that luxury. I try to eat healthy, and take my medication for flu, but it doesn’t seem to be working
This is exactly what I’m going through at the moment. I have been doing high intensity workouts and lots of cardio to lose fat after Christmas and felt like I hit the wall last week. I haven’t been to the gym this week and planning on sticking with ‘de-stressing’ until next Monday. However, I’m now stressing about putting fat back on as I’m doing no activity. I really scaled back my calories and carbs. Is that a good idea? What diet would you suggest for this week off?
Pleased to see this one Joel.
I run into the occasional demotivation period which can last up to three weeks.
I always find that I’ve gained some strength at the end of this.
Something else appears to happen which is of great value for those of us who train to gain fitness and strength for active sports (kitesurf, skiing,wavesailing in my case). The available strength at the upper end becomes much easier to use, requiring much less concentration and ‘other’ muscle tension. This seems to imply that there is a big improvement in coordination.
I’ve found that during these lay-offs that doing a couple of sessions per week using something light with sets of 50 works well. I concentrate on getting the form and positioning correct in detail for each rep and then work this up so the set become a continous flow with every rep executed in the same way. This seems to carry over to the heavier weights when normal training recommences.
All subjective comment…maybe if I pushed through these lulls I’d have gained even more. Certainly don’t seem to lose anything though.
Happened to me last week! i started my session did the first exercise and left, had a good weekends rest, got back on the monday and had one of my best workouts for a while. I wasn’t sure whether i did the right thing leaving the session but having read you post i now feel justified :)
Joel, I feel your argument has merit but is flirting with danger in suggesting that if you are lacking in motivation to give the session a miss. This can set up some negative behavioural patterns in many as they let themselves off too easily and get into bad habits. 1 session off can easily turn into 2,3,4 sessions off or every Monday off,etc. I know this sounds tough but it is human nature. I totally agree from time to time when we are a bit flat we should take a short break or have an easier session but only to make sure we get straight back on the horse. My advice when lacking in motivation would be to start a gentle warmup and then see how you feel at the end of that – you might be surprised how much better you feel sometimes when you get things moving a little. Working with a partner or a group is always great to keep the motivation up through the tough times. Personally, I have had some of best workouts when I felt no motivation whatsoever. Good luck
I totally agree with you .I have been there done that. I am usually pretty motivated, however when I am on a real progressive work out trying for a PR after 4 weeks I need a break. Knowing this I actually build it into my routine and plan to take a few days off at the end . KNowing I will be doing this time off at the end, I will try harder for my goals.
Thanks
Sure, I agree with what u say about over-training and listening to the body. Problem is, sometimes it’s just laziness, and sometimes it’s over-training. Seems there has to be some kind of adherence to pre-set targets of frequency and duration of workouts. Else laziness can take over. It’s a thin dividing line between the two, and one has to be honest with, and look within oneself, to judge it right.
Hey Joel,
Great article. This is exactly how I sometimes feel and I do what you recommend: I just have fun by listening to my body and doing the exercises I want to. No rules to stick to.
However, I might not be mentally strong enough to take a break because I know I am wrong but I would feel like I am becoming lazy… so I go to the gym, all the same even on a bad streak.
Thank you
When I’m stressed usualy don’t go over with all the sets and at the end do a stress reliver set were i give everthing I got left and belive me when you’re in fatige there’s no mind for stress and can start a fresh new day with another mentality
Even tho’ I am not a true “weight lifter”, I have noticed in times past that when “life gets in the way” for a week and I don’t go to the gym, when I DO go back the next week, I actually do better than where I left off. So it is true… taking time off can actually work in ones favor (every now and then).
I have found it to be true that once I am fit, I can trust my body to tell me what it needs. It didn’t work when my body was so out of whack that it didn’t function well, but as long as I’m following a plan and exercising daily, my body gives me true information. Enjoy your time off!
I never believed in taking a “day” let alone a week off. But after 2 ankle tendon repair surgeries in 10 months, and some grueling physical therapy, I have learned that if I am just not up for a workout, I NEED to take the day off. And every 8 weeks or so, I take an active recovery week where the only scheduled workouts are a couple of good stretching or yoga workouts. My body feels more refreshed this way, and I am ready to work. Most of my best workouts come after a short break. I highly recommend taking a recovery week periodically for both your physical and mental well-being.
This post couldn’t have been more timely – The snow got me off schedule this week (I usually hit the gym at 5 AM) and just haven’t been motivated to do anything – I came to the conclusion yesterday that instead of feeling guilty I was going to take the rest of the week off and start back Saturday! Thanks Joel.
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...