This week’s motivation Monday is a little bit different. I came down with strep throat this last weekend, and I’m having to take a break from working out for a couple days. One of the reasons I’ve been so successful in my fitness journey is that I treat my time at the gym like it’s my job. Unless it’s an emergency, nothing keeps me from my scheduled workouts. I’m so regimented that I know what day of the week it is based on what workout I did that day.  Any disruption of my schedule really throws me off my game, so it’s very easy to maintain my workout regiment. As much as I want to just continue my workouts, I know I need to let my body recover so I don’t wind up needing an even longer break. This bout of strep has really taken a lot out of me. I couldn’t even drag myself off the couch yesterday, which is so unlike me. I’m hoping that a few days of complete rest will help me come back stronger than ever.

Rest days are important for any workout plan. I usually have one day that is an active rest day when I do pilates and one day that I try to avoid any kind of official workout. These days are necessary to give my body rest it needs to recover from the intense workouts that make up the rest of my week. I find that when I am less prone to injuries when I do this, and I’m more likely to have less time benched from my workouts. ​