When my younger sister and I were kids and played video games, she had a horrible habit that drove me crazy. Whenever we would play any sort of racing game be it ATVs, snowboarding, etc. if she didn’t get a good start she would hit the reset button. Not only did it annoy me because I just wanted to play, but I felt it took away some of the challenge of trying to come from behind to win.
While restarting a video game race may feel like cheating to me, hitting reset mentally is something I think is often needed. I think that’s one of the reasons most people set New Year’s Resolutions; they view it as a chance to reset life and start anew. If I have a bad day I try to remember that I will get to go to bed and wake up with a fresh start. Even the change of seasons seems to be the Earth’s way of resetting itself.
Recently I lost track of how necessary it is to reset oneself mentally and physically when it comes to workouts. In August of 2016 I made a commitment to myself to never take off more than two days in a row from working out. Up until January of this year when I got sick and took off three days, I kept that goal. In fact I had actually gotten to the point where I would never take off two days in a row. I had gotten to the point where I was only taking one day off a week. I might have a recovery day of yoga or mobility, but it became important to me to keep working out almost nonstop.
Some of the drive to work out so frequently has come from my decrease in running. As I get farther along in the track season I’m coaching the kids in work outs on the track as opposed to going for long runs. I haven’t wanted to lose the strength I’ve gained from running all winter, so I’ve felt compelled to work out regularly. This time last year I would work out, but I was often utilizing my two days off in a row rule or else doing 10-15 min workouts. Lately though I’ve been doing the 30 min DailyBurn work outs almost every day.
This week it finally hit me, primarily physically, that I need to reset both physically and mentally. A kickboxing workout that left my inner thighs aching for two days and a slight pain in my left foot despite buying new running shoes were part of my wake up call. They coupled with incessant thoughts in my head about fitting in my work outs after track practice to the point where I was replaying my daily and weekly schedule over and over in my mind even more than I usually do in the spring.
I accepted that both my body and my mind were indirectly telling me they needed a break. While I haven’t felt overtly stressed recently, I know stress can manifest itself in various ways. I had a scheduled day off for yesterday primarily because I had no time to work out due to line judging a volleyball game in the evening. I knew I needed to take today off as well though, so I did.
The weather actually turned out to be amazing for practice today, and it was hard to resist to the urge to come home and run. After so many miserable weather days a perfect running day seemed to be a rarity. I was committed to taking two days off though, so I did. Already I’m feeling better for it.
Once I decided to take two days in a row off my mind relaxed and stopped so many of the schedule related thoughts. My thighs are feeling a lot better. I know as much as Mother Nature seems to hate this area right now there will be other great running weather days. I’ll work out again tomorrow knowing I haven’t lost any strength. And I’ll remember that sometimes it is okay to hit reset.
That’s awesome you listened to your body- it’s so easy to ignore it until it’s too late!
My favorite quote is “tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet”
Yes, I think it’s hard when you’re in a consistent routine and you aren’t in any real pain, just a nagging sort, but it’s always good to take a break when needed. That’s a great quote!
Yup that’s when I’m the worst at taking a break:(
I used to feel guilty about allowing myself to “hit reset” too, like I’m losing time or being unnecessarily self-indulgent by doing so. But over time I’ve learned what you’ve discussed so well here, about how taking the time to reset is absolutely essential! It’s counterproductive for us to try to keep going if we know we need to slow down for some much needed downtime or “maintenance repairs.” 😉
I often wonder why we have such guilt. It is our own internal pressure to always be “go go go” or is it society condemning “laziness” and making us feel as if we’re always to be accomplishing something? Maybe it’s both. I’m glad you can relate and have realized as well that recharging our batteries is essential sometimes!
Absolutely agree! We all need some time off to repair and heal before getting out there at it again.
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