Hey kids! Having a good Tuesday? Mon, Annie and I are still exploring all that Vegas has to offer. Because I have pretty awesome friends, Mon said she’d contribute a post while we were off frolicking in the desert. Funny thing is she wrote this post about burnout about a week before I actually experienced it. So you can imagine she was one of the peeps yelling at me to take a break. Luckily I did and was good as new! Guess it happens to the best of us…
Anyways, enjoy:
Hello Friends, Mon here! Apparently I wrote sufficiently enough on my last guest post for Miss Amy because she has requested my ramblings for another guest blog. This makes number two! Hooray! Okay, let’s get to it shall we?
For this segment, I want to talk to you about rest, rest and MORE rest. I know, I know, BLASPHEMY you say! I mean really Mon, with all of the things I tackle on a day to day basis, when do I actually have the time to rest? Well, I’ll tell you how I found out the answer to this very question – the HARD way.
Let me first begin my setting the scene….
Stuck in a job that I absolutely hated, my outlet was to go home and ‘forget the day’. This included walking into the apartment, tearing off my clothes and quickly changing into gym gear to work off the loathing and self-pity for an hour or so. Upon my return home, I ate dinner, straightened the apartment, threw in some laundry, showered and settled into my dent on the couch for a couple of hours. I’d go to bed happy my routine was accomplished and spent the night dreaming of the day I no longer had to work at my ‘workplace of doom’. OCD anyone? Anyone?
My dream was finally attained on a Friday morning in February. I was laid-off. The word was music to my ears! After getting the news, I returned to my desk, still gleeful but starting to feel this knot begin to develop somewhere in the middle of my chest. Ten minutes later my cell rings. The recruiter on the other end of the phone wants me to interview at a company on Monday. Things are coming together perfectly! Yet this knot seems to be growing a little more. I decide to ‘call it quits’ (horrible pun intended) and leave for home to immediately began my routine. I ran for the first time in a week due to a knee ‘twinge’ I was experiencing. I ran because of the incredible urge to ‘run my feelings out’ and not think.
The weekend consisted of more workouts and endless conversations with friends and family about what had and will happen now. My brain was overworking and the knot began to expand into my entire core. My body was aching and at times it seemed difficult to catch my breath. But my thought process was ‘if I stop now, I may lose my ambition to keep moving forward’. I don’t mean just the exercise part of the equation but also the parts that seemed to want to stay ‘On’ at every moment; ‘keep happy’ ‘keep motivated’ ‘keep positive’ ‘don’t shut anyone out’ ‘don’t meltdown’. And repeat. After all, this IS what I wanted. I should be more exhilarated than ever, right?
Sunday came around. The ‘bad’ emotions started to hit me. I felt the knot in my chest but also a knot forming in my throat thinking about my finances, the possibility of not finding another job soon and ‘OH MY GOD – what if I have to move in with someone until I’m back on my feet!’ So, I went to the gym. I didn’t want these newfound emotions to bring me down. I’d work out until I was happy again. I mean, come on, I DID have an interview scheduled for the very next day!
Monday came. I was ON. I nailed it. I received news I had my new job by 3pm that afternoon and would be starting on Tuesday! This is amazing!! I need to workout! I need to look amazing for my first impression on these new people! I have this knot in my chest still, but that’s okay, I’m superwoman and I’ll push through it! So I did.
Tuesday came. The environment is amazing. The people are amazing. My work is amazing. I’m overjoyed!! My day started two hours earlier than usual due to a longer commute and I was getting home later. But ‘hey!! That’s okay! I can do it! I can do it all!’ (even though this knot seems to be getting worse). So, I went to the gym! I also accomplished the remainder of my routine and by the time I went to bed I felt like a million dollars. The same thing happened Wednesday as well. Because hey – I’m superwoman!
Then Thursday came. I was utterly exhausted. The knot was still there and my breathing was not how it should be. I went to bed. Friday came. No gym. Saturday and Sunday there was no desire whatsoever to return to the gym. I was tired. My body hurt. My chest hurt. I thought to myself, ‘maybe I’ll just quit trying to go to the gym and instead really watch my diet.’ I mean, hey, if you watch what you eat, you don’t necessarily need to exercise, right? 
As much as I wanted to agree with that statement, it disturbed me. I had worked out regularly since I was 28 and was proud of it. Not only am I stronger, but it’s my stress reliever. So why all of the sudden is it causing me stress? I’ll tell you why – I needed a BREAK. I took the entire next week ‘off’. I didn’t schedule a workout and I wasn’t upset for not going.
That week off was the best thing I could have done mentally and physically. There was time to readjust myself to a new schedule and make the adjustment. The knot in my chest left and my breathing returned to normal. I caught up on sleep and my body was given time to heal. I looked forward to exercise again. I realized that even though really good things were happening, good things can still be very stressful. Resting was the best thing I had ever incorporated into my new routine.
Giving yourself the time to relax will recharge your body and mind in amazing ways. Don’t be afraid to let yourself take some time off. It does NOT mean you still aren’t a superhero, it just means that you are a superhero that needs a good nap now and then.
Have a good one, everyone! See you sooooon! 
Filed under: Fitness Randomness | Tagged: fitness, guest post, health, Healthy Living, stress, workout, workout rut | 18 Comments »
