You should absolutely know when to rest but you need to not fall into this one trap.
As I’m writing this, it is Tuesday night and I should be gym, but sometimes you have to do what feels good instead…
Granted that is a trap that a lot of people fall into…
We all need a break from time to time, either physically or mentally, or both. That is tonight for me. Long work day, and I have the Ragnar Trail run later this week, so no training this week will get me more ready. You can’t cram for a long trail run.
Where people go wrong with taking a day off, is doing it all the time.
They start turning every other day into a ‘mental health day’ and their diet goes to hell, the work quits getting done, and the problems start to compound because they are using their ‘day off’ as a long-term escape from reality.
Take a day off, but use that break to be a rest for coming back stronger the next day.
Physically and mentally we all need rest. Tonight that looks like several beers as I put a few thoughts down on the screen followed by cheese sticks and some wonderous bar food that has yet to be decided on. Tomorrow I’ll be in the gym at 5am.
So if you are feeling cooked, burned, and ready to quit, take a day off.
I give you permission to take a breather before you go hit it again.