What to Do If You Skipped an Exercise Day (Besides Feel Guilty)

Sometimes you need a day off.

Sometimes you dontneeda day off, but you take one anyway.

Am I losing all my gains?

And if rest days are so important, why do I feel guilty every time I take one?

But feelings of rest day guilt are pretty common, and Ive felt them myself.

Five years from now, will you look back on this one particular day with regret?

You probably wont even remember it happened.

All are perfectly valid ways to work out.

Your body will put that rest to good use, anyway.

But regardless of whether youneeda day off, your body can stilluseone for extra recovery.

Youll feel fresher the day you come back.

You feel guilty because you care

It’s worth taking a minute to unpack those guilty feelings.

Having a plan, and being able to compare our actions to our plan, are both good things!

We may just need to recalibrate a bit.

So when you feel guilty, think about your plan.

Maybe your plan can allow some extra rest days, which means you’re not off-target at all.

Or maybe your plan is unrealistic, and you’ve been putting inappropriate expectations on yourself.

Check whether your benchmarks (or SMART goals) actuallymatch up appropriately with your big-picture dream goals.

Well, thats within your power!

Decide how and when youll get back on that horse.

Why did you take this rest day, anyway?

Just a time management issue?

Try some ofthese tips for getting in regular exerciseeven when your schedule is already packed.

Or maybe youre feeling guilty because youve missed alotof days.

Thats a sign that you may be on a path thats unsustainable.

Are you so stressed out from work that you dont feel motivated to work out?

Or maybe you just have to solve the larger problem in your life.

(Talk to your boss about your workload?

Startlooking for a new job?)