what is everyone's rest day philosophy?

i feel a day off of exercise per week is probably a good idea. HOWEVER, i find it very difficult to let myself take a day off... most often when i do, i am very very cranky. am i cranky because i did not exercise, or would i have been cranky anyways? i sometimes also feel guilty/lazy. today i am just cranky and pissed in general becuase it is exam time...

I always feel guilty when I take a day off but I KNOW my body needs it. I try and work my day off around days I know I would be too busy to get it in anyway.

I haven't been able to work in a day off .. don't know if I ever will be.. some days (especially busy days) I just take it a little easier than others.

When I need a rest I can't tell if I really need it or if I am making excuses for myself. I'd rather air on the side of not trusting myself yet. So.. I keep plugging along.

Actually enjoying it though.

I feel guilty when I take a day off. Also, a day off makes me sooo lazy the next day but I get over it. I take off Sundays.

The reason I take a day off is because you will burn out eventually if you "over train" I did once upon a time. AS you see under my name it says Endorphin Junkie, its my drug of choice. So I was running (on an elliptical) 7 days a week 5 miles in 45 mins, then lifting.. alternating days, legs,arms,chest, back, abs(everyday) I was able to keep that up for like 7months before I burned completely out, and just felt like exercise was my job and my workouts began to slack and finally I quit I was so exhausted. SO point being.. if you are in it for the long haul, you should give yourself a break either once a week or once every other week at least.

Another reason I take a day, is because I have noticed that on that day of rest I release alot of water without drinking more water. I dont know if its a coincidence or something scientifically. JMO

Thanks. I know I have to work it in somehow. But I think my day of rest has to include some form of exercise ... something to fill the time that was my regular workout.. like a stroll to the park or something like that. I do worry about burning out, but I worry about slacking even more.

Interesting. I have never heard this before.

I feel guilty on some of my rest days and not others. Sundays are usually my day off and sometimes I just feel like such a slug, while other times I'm to busy to worry about not working out. I figure its part of the whole lifestyle change, and never clear cut and easy. I have noticed that my workouts are better the following week after a rest day than if I'v caved and thrown in an extra workout so my body obviously needs to rest. We need to listen to what our body is telling us even though its not always easy.

I havent ever heard of it before either. Its just an observation that I make.. but I can stay the same weight all week and then magically on monday I've dropped weight. When I was the same all the way up to my rest day.

Also, a stroll in the park can count as an off day. Its not like your going balls to the wall. Thats how I work out ( and Im sure you do to) so any day that Im not doing that is considered a day off..

Aha, so that is your definition of a day off... for someone like me who has been such a couch potato I didn't think of it like that. Now I feel soooooo much better.

Ok.. I do have a nice "day off" every now and then. At least once every two weeks if not once a week.

i like the idea of taking a walk or some other light movement on the day off. sunday is an ideal day off for me becuase my gym is closed on sundays and my husband doesn't work that day. the two of us could go on a leisurely bike ride or to the park instead of running 5 miles

about the water-- i also notice that i lose a bit of weight when i don't exercise for a day or two. i think the body must release it because the muscles aren't storing it...

I usually will take a rest day if there's a day during the week where I literally don't have time to fit exercise into my schedule. Last Wednesday, for example, I had show choir practice and school from 7 to 3:30, then I had a little break to eat, do homework, and relax, then an appointment out of town at 6:00 so I had to leave at 5:30, and when I got back into town I went to a friend's house for our weekly Wednesday night movie night. We watched "Clerks", which was hilarious.

Do you see time or energy for exercise in there? I don't!! I'll also take rest days when I just plain don't feel good or I'm overtired. Yesterday, I was super tired, so I didn't do my usual exercise. I did have show choir practice where we danced for about 45 minutes straight, though, so I guess that made up for it =P