Congratulations. You’ve proved you can do it. You pressed through tiredness, pushed through weakness, and elbowed that still small voice saying: “I can’t do it”, in the gut. Now that you’ve built up such a fierce determination to exercise daily, you also need to slot in one day off a week.
I know, ‘pausing’ can be just as hard as getting started. But the day of rest is an important principal to keep you fresh and healthy. Believe me, I’ve seen first-hand how over-training can lead to injury in sport and fitness.
Resting one day out of seven is similar to the wise agricultural method of leaving a field ‘fallow’ on the seventh year. Continual farming, particularly of the same crop, will deplete the land of nutrients. Allowing a year of rest, animals can graze and fertilize a field, enabling it to build back its power. It’s the same with you.
Delegate one day off a week where you don’t even look at your phone. Avoid the temptation to check your email or social media. Instead, do what you enjoy. Make time with friends and family. Get out, move about, re-create, re-align, re-calibrate and replenish.
Your rest day will restore your mental energy, creativity and productivity. And it will give your body’s muscles and ligaments a chance to rest before you start the next week with renewed energy.
