Here's a legitimate question that I think will hit home with any weirdo who's fitness-obsessed enough not just to exercise fanatically but then to read about what other people are saying about exercising fanatically.  Meaning, essentially, anyone reading THIS:

Have you ever taken a week off from training?

Not because you HAD to, mind you.  Not for travel, or sickness, or because you were swamped at work.  Just--because. 

I ask because I'm partway through what may be a week...or even two...OFF from training that I'm finding surprisingly enjoyable. 

(This week, I'm sympatico with this particular line-painter).

Usually, a day off from working out makes my skin crawl.  Even a scheduled one.  I'm climbing the walls.  I'm grouchy.  I feel guilty.  I sense that I'm either growing or shrinking, whichever I've decided is the more objectionable on that given day. 

Never mind that this year I 'celebrate'--I use the term loosely--22 years of exercising regularly on average of five days a week (that comes to about 5,720 hours of exercise, but that doesn't count those days when I went long, or attended two or three classes of one kind or another.  Let's just say it's a lot of time.)  I've been a regular exerciser well over half my life now. 

No, usually a day off feels like everything will fall apart.

But this week--and maybe next!--I'm doing it, and I have to say, it feels fantastic! I admit that it started as a work-related/injury-related back-off, but I've been able to hit the gym for several days now, but strangely--haven't.

Heresy, I know.  But no, I'm not going to quit the weight room, or coaching, or doing this blog.  I'm just realizing that for the love of God, sometimes you just need to back ALL THE WAY OFF for awhile. 

What I've realized over the last 3 days off is this:

1)  I have a lot of aches and pains that I don't even really consider aches and pains.  They're just there, like static on a badly-tuned radio station (does static still exist?), mucking up my mood, making me feel tight, and disturbing my sleep.  Within a couple of days, a lot of them have lifted, or eased off.

2)  I feel kind of inflamed a lot of the time:  like my whole body, or parts of it, are kind of feverish. My face can get balloony too.

3)  Waking up in the morning is often an tentative, fearful experience, because I sometimes wonder--what's sore?  What won't I be able to move?  Is my back okay?

4)  It's not possible to get enormously fat in four days.

5)  It's not possible to lose huge amounts of muscle tissue in four days. 

6)  It IS possible for one's body to LOOK and FEEL significantly BETTER if you take a few days off and let things heal.

7)  It IS possible to rationalize pounding your body into submission every day of your life for years and lose track of the fact that feeling BETTER is supposed to be the ultimate goal.

8)  I'm fully expecting to be stronger/faster/better when I do finally decide to go back.  That's usually how these things go for me.

9)  Part of the reason I think I feel great is that I've (temporarily) unshackled myself from the daily obligation:  how am I going to squeeze it in?  How much will it inconvenience me, my family, my work if I do a workout?

I don't know exactly what I'll do when I finally get back to it, but I'm going to make sure it's fun.  

So, if you're reading this, take it from me,  STOP EXERCISING! 

For a while.

Have a great weekend!

Andrew