Valentin Bosioc
A few months ago, you were feeling great! Setting personal records, getting excited for each workout, and in a awesome mood. Now something is different. You ache, your progress has stalled, and your mood is taking a turn for the worse. Could it be time to take a break?
Anyone who really loves to train probably hates the idea of taking time off from the gym. That is where you are able to let go, get away from the world, and push your limits. It can be hard to let that go, even for a little while. Besides all of that, if you take time off, there can be a true fear of losing some of the gains you worked so hard to get.
The fact is, there are some signs that show that you REALLY need to take a break. Doing otherwise would actually leave you much worse off and halt, if not reverse, your progress. In this article, we will cover what some of those signs are and some easy ways you can take that much-needed time off.
READ: TOP 5 Signs You’re Overtraining
Signs That You Need a Break
If you have been training for a little while, you are probably pretty in tune with your body. You know when things feel good and when they just feel off. You know when you’re gonna have an awesome training session and when things are not going to go so well.
Because of this, you will have no issue realiseing when the following things are occurring or, if they have occurred already.
Here is a list of 5 signs that can indicate you need a break.
Injuries or “tweaks”
This one is probably the most obvious but needs to be mentioned. If you are injured or feel like you’ve “tweaked” a joint or pulled a muscle, it is a good idea to take a break. Let your body heal. 99% of the time, working through an injury is a bad idea. This is not to be confused with working around an injury. That is often a good idea. The point here is to make sure that you rest whatever is injured when you have an injury. Sometimes, that may mean taking time off from working out completely, unfortunately.
READ: The Best Female Fitness Motivation – You will want to go NOW to gym!
Plateaus on lifts
One sign that you may be overworking yourself and could benefit from some time off is if your lifts are stalling out. If you have been progressing on your lifts from week to week then all of a sudden it stops and your program is solid and your nutrition is on point, it could be that you just need to take some time off and let your body recover properly.
Terrible mood
We all have bad days where we are in a bad mood, but if you find yourself constantly in a bad mood when you are usually a bright and happy person, it could be because you need some rest.Overworking yourself to a large degree can affect your mood to the point where others can notice it. If it has reached that point, you really need to take some time off.
Getting sick
Heavily outworking yourself can damage immune function, leading you to be more susceptible to getting sick.
So, if you usually don’t get sick, yet you find yourself getting sick, that can be a sign that you need a break. This is one of the signs that is usually coupled with another sign, as getting sick by itself can be caused by factors completely unrelated to working out. In other words, if you are sick and aren’t experiencing anything else on this list, you probably aren’t sick from overworking yourself. Either way, taking a break is a good idea whenever you’re sick.
Sleeplessness
Written by Valentin Bosioc
Tiger Classic 2017 – Eveniment Sportiv Internațional
