How to keep your sanity on Rest Days
Ever since new year, you must have been hitting the gym every day to burn the extra pounds to get ready for summer, you go nuts when your trainer insists that you take a day off from your workout regimen. You need to rest and recuperate, he says. But having nothing to do at home leaves you with a guilty feeling – because you think you’re supposed to be in the gym!
Obey your trainer. You have another full week ahead to train anyway. Enjoy the downtime and allow your muscles to recover. Explore options on how to take your mind off working out. Here are some tips from PF on what you can do when working out isn’t an option:
Meet up with school buddies
Anytime is the perfect time to connect with your high school and college friends. Ask your trainer for weekend rest days so that your schedule will jive with those of match your friends’. Almost everyone just might be available for a mini-reunion. Plus, there’ll be more time to talk about your batch’s past mischiefs or feats.
Netflix!
Subscribe to Netflix and get yourself a whole season or two of your fave series. The best way to get your mind busy might just be to watch a Walking Dead or GOT marathon or a movie you missed on the big screen.
De-clutter your Home
If the Holidays didn’t allow you some extra time to organize your home, now’s the best time to be a Martha Stewart or somebody from Cable TV’s Clean House. Use your rest day to sort out your clothes, shoes, and fridge. Throw or give away clothes or shoes that you haven’t been wearing for a while. Clear out your fridge of ‘overstaying’ food and clean it up with baking soda and water to leave it spic and span and ready for another few months or year of stocking and stuffing.
Prepare your Finances
Sounds like the most boring thing to do while on your gym day-off, but this action makes perfect sense. This will help you prepare and save for your upcoming (necessary) expenses. If you know how to use Excel, create a spreadsheet of your Monthly receivables and payables so that you have a visual of how your finances will look in the next few months. Who knows, you might finally be able to fly to Bali this year?
Get a Massage
The goal for each rest day is to be able to relax and enjoy the downtime. Book a session at your favorite Spa for an hour (or so) of a soothing, or invigorating massage to prepare you for another week of working your bum off.
If you think you’d feel mortified to take even just a day off of the gym, just think that rest days are meant for relaxation and recovery. Now that you have this list, you won’t feel lost on your next rest day. More importantly, you’ll be doing your muscles and bones a huge favor if you take a breather from exercise.
Remember that REST is part of the program.
