Working Hard

I was going to run this morning, but I woke up with sore hamstrings, along with that twinge in my right ankle (oh have I not mentioned that? same place as in August…) and my butt/hip issues, I figured, you know what, a day off is probably a good thing.  My trainer tells me to stay active and that I don’t need to worry but after years of dealing with my various violin-related injuries where TIME OFF is the best remedy, old habits die hard.  He probably meant don’t take a week off, rather than don’t take a day off.  (Then again he is crazy and runs every single day.)

The first day off I usually feel more achy.  But then the body heals.  I don’t plan to take more than today off, other than scheduled days off (busy weekend ahead!) but I think one day is fine. 

Mike (my trainer) and I had a little discussion yesterday regarding my weight loss goals.  Many people have asked if I am losing weight for my wedding, or alluded to how they lost weight for their wedding, or perhaps said that they were too stressed to eat, etc.  Basically I hear this as "you need to lose weight for your wedding." I mentioned to him, and that frankly I would be most happy if I didn’t gain any weight between now and my wedding (and I’m counting my weight as my pre-Thanksgiving weight, that is starting to equalize, thank goodness.) 

This is why I love Mike.  His answer was, "well, I don’t think you need to lose any weight." 

(For the record, Chris won’t talk about weight-related topics to me at all because he knows they are a trap.  I’m sure he would say the same except he wouldn’t answer at all.  Smart man.)

Granted, I don’t actually BELIEVE that answer. 

But it made me think, hmm, this is a weight I’ve maintained pretty easily for months now without too much bother or stress.  But yet I still want to be smaller (less significant, am I right?) and thinner.  Or do I just want to be stronger, faster, and more muscular?  I guess I’ll have to keep working out even after I get married 😉

All in all though, I certainly get a lot done when I’m not working out!  I did a bunch of wedding planning stuff (up to 54 official yeses!), caught up on some other paperwork, practiced, and even cooked a hot lunch for myself.  I love having a cooked lunch on occasion—usually I just have a sandwich with a salad or cup of soup. 

What do you think about rest days?  Necessary evil?  Best part of working out? 

3 thoughts on “Working Hard”

  1. I never tend to fully appreciate my rest days. Sometimes I want a rest day when I have a workout scheduled, but when I just have no workout scheduled I forget to revel in the lack of working out. Then again, I love working out. So, there’s that.

    Getting strong/faster/better is a much more fun, sustainable, long term goal than just losing weight.

  2. let me tell you this—having met you in person, i totally second the thought that you don’t need to lose weight at all. that being said, i’m female too so i totally get that fear of feeling/becoming fat!

    rest days are good…i used to NEVER take them and it really took a toll on me. i’m still not as good about it as i should be (partially because I’m convinced exercise keeps me sane), but i try to pay attention to when i need one and i always balance hard/easy workouts and don’t run 2 days in a row!

  3. I think rest days are a necessary evil. I know that I need them, but I feel like a rest day can easily send me into a “no working out for a week” kind of thing. Usually Sunday is my “active rest day” with walking or yoga, but I typically don’t have a total rest day. I’m just weird like that I guess.

    And – you don’t need to lose a pound. But people tell me that all the time and I always feel like I could stand to drop 10lbs. Especially since I’ve gained about that much since we started our own business in May of 2010. I felt better when I was 10lbs lighter, my clothes fit better and I was less sluggish. I know that 10lbs won’t make or break me, but having it sit on my ass totally breaks me!!

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