Five Reasons to Give Yourself a Break at the Gym

Photo - www.fitfluential.com

As a trainer, I hear a lot of not-so-convincing excuses for skipping workouts. Most of them are just that - excuses - but below are a few that totally justify giving yourself a break. 

1. You ache. – Your body hurts. There is fatigue in your bones so deep that your eyes burn at the thought of stillness and silence. Sleep. Rest. Your risk of injury is much higher when you and your muscles are spent.

2. You lost your keys twice this morning and poured orange juice on your cereal. – If you are spinning out, frazzled beyond recognition, and making it to the gym is PART OF THE ROUTINE, DAMN IT!!! Stop. Take a walk. Take as many walks as you can. Even 10 minutes will give you space to reorganize your thoughts.

3. Spin class blows. - You hate it. All your friends love it. You’ve tried, but you still hate it. Forget spin, and move on. Find something you love, but, whatever you do, don't give up! Just because you hate one type of exercise does not mean you will hate them all. You just need to find your perfect match.

4. Your Mom or your best friend just died. – Grieve and rage and be relieved. Go home, stare at the ceiling, and then take a trip somewhere. Go to Machu Picchu. Make her favorite sugar cookies. The gym is irrelevant immediately after a significant tragedy or loss, but, in the long run, exercise can help pull you through the grief and back into balance. Get back to it when you're ready.

5. You had a baby this week. – Give it a month or two. Listen to your doctor. Move as much as she says you can. Get out for fresh air as often as you can, and bring the baby. Get through the initial months of exhaustion, shock, and amazement. Life will return to normal eventually, and when you're ready to prioritize time for physical fitness again, you will know it.

One reason not to give yourself a break: 

You don’t feel like it. - If you allow yourself to skip workouts whenever you don't feel like it (and if you're anything like me), you will skip week-after-week, until you can't remember the last time you went to the gym. Deep down, we all have a pretty good idea whether we have a legitimate reason to take it easy or if we would really rather just have a snooze.

So when you are deciding whether to turn left toward home or right toward the gym, make sure to ask yourself if your reason for heading home is good enough or if it is just another excuse - and then (9 times out of 10), take a right.