Yep, you read that correctly…this is all about how to NOT exercise. Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of people who are great at not exercising. In fact most people probably spend way too long sitting down – even if you do get the recommended weekly physical activity of 150 minutes, my guess is that you spend a lot of the other time sitting down – at a computer screen, TV, reading, sitting in the car. It’s easy to not exercise, right?
So why am I even writing this??
Well, because it is possible to overdo it. Along with a balanced diet, exercise is an important part of achieving and maintaining your health and fitness goals, whether that is reducing body fat, toning up your bum, your arms, getting that elusive PB, or simply managing your weight. Exercise helps achieve these goals and it can be really tempting to keep upping the duration, the intensity or frequency. Maybe you are worried that if you don’t exercise every single day, you will put on weight; maybe you are addicted to that feeling you get when you exercise. It can become a kind of addiction…and like any addiction when you overdo it, there can be side-effects: insomnia, irritability, getting colds that you can’t shift, constantly sore muscles and joints and also you may stop seeing the results you are training for in the first place – and here’s why…
When you workout, you put stress on your body – your muscles, your heart and lungs and so on. This is a good thing because your body is amazing at adapting – it thinks we need our muscles to be stronger and our heart and lungs to be more efficient to deal with that stress next time it comes around. So it does adapt…on the recovery days!! This is what makes you stronger and fitter. So without recovery days, your body doesn’t get the proper chance to adapt and therefore it might take you longer to achieve your goals than if you were exercising every single day.
This doesn’t mean, on your recovery days you can sit on your backside all day and eat cake. I know, I know, I’m sorry…
Recovery days are just what is says on the tin – a chance for your body to recover. So is it as simple as one day on, one day off? Well for some people, maybe…but it really depends. On what sort of exercise you are doing, what you are trying to achieve, and how fit you are. For me, a recovery day might mean I go swimming, go for a walk, take the kids to the park – it’s called active recovery. I’m not really putting my body under loads of stress but it’s still moving. And yes ok, there are some days I sit on my bum and eat my way through a family bag of Tangfastics (I’m only human) but that’s ok once in a while too.
Basically you need to listen to your body. If you are exhausted, sack it off! (which isn’t the same as when you just can’t be arsed…that’s more to do with motivation). Those days when you are just shattered, that high intensity, sweat yourself silly kind of workout might not be what your body needs right now, and perhaps a gentle swim or walk might be much better for you, leaving you fully charged and raring to go the next day.
Your workouts should leave you feeling energised, not broken!
So yes, sometimes it is ok to NOT exercise. Sometimes, it’s better for you and can help you reach your goals. Having a rest now and then may mean you are less likely to give it all up too.
No, you will not get fat if you don’t exercise every day.
And yes, ok, sometimes it is ok to sit on your bum and eat cake… hurrah!!
