1. You’re Sick

You need a day off from working out when you are sick. It isn’t good to push yourself through a workout when you aren’t feeling well. It is better to give your body the rest and care it needs to recover. You could prolong your illness by pushing yourself. Give yourself time to recover and you will soon be back to full speed with your work out.

2. You Are Injured

You should take the day off from working out if you have an injury. Unless you have had a doctor examine you and give you clearance to work out, don’t. It is always best to err on the side of caution. I have made the mistake of pushing myself to work out when I was injured. I ended up having to take off longer to let my injury heal.

3. You Don’t Have a Rest Day

Your body needs to have a rest day each week. As admirable as dedication to fitness is, your body really needs to have a day to recover. It is more beneficial to take a day off each week for your muscles to rest than it is to never have a day off. You will actually notice more results if you don’t push your body constantly. Choose the day of the week that you use for relaxing activities to have your rest day on.

4. You’re Exhausted

To really notice results in exercise, you do have to be consistent. You have to be disciplined. Sometimes that means rising before the sun to get your workout in. But if you are beyond tired and truly exhausted, you may benefit more from an additional hour of sleep. Sometimes sleep is more needful than a workout.

5. You Need Balance

Exercise is only one part of what makes us well rounded people. If you have gotten overly focused on your workouts, you may be lacking balance. If your workout routine means always saying no to meeting a friend for a cup of coffee or a date, something needs to change. Make sure that exercise isn’t crowding out on other areas of your life. You need time for fun, too.

6. You Are Experiencing Burnout

You can get to a point where you are experiencing burnout when it comes to exercise. When this happens, you could get to a point where you just throw in the towel. Take a couple of days off to have a break. Switch up your fitness routine. You will come back to your workout ready to dive back in.

7. You Have Big Plans

Of course you can’t skip working out all the time because there is something else you want to do. But if you have really big plans, give yourself the day off. Maybe you have a long distance friend coming into town for one day. Maybe you have an opportunity for a dream vacation starting with a road trip. Reassure yourself you will get back to your workout and seize the day.

These are some times when you should really take the day off from working out. What about you? When do you take the day off from working out?