Work Hard Play Hard

          Welcome to afitnewyou!  Heading into this first Monday that follows a week long vacation stirs up some interesting feelings.  Where most times, most people, would not be too fond of getting back to the grind on a typical Monday morning, I think getting back to a routine is welcomed following a long break.  In fact, I often find it easier to start up for the week after a vacation than beginning again after a normal weekend.  I believe there are two reasons for this; one is due to the physical rest taken, and the second is the mental break that allows us to refocus.  Think about how you feel, after a long vacation...yes, you might prefer to stay on a warm, sandy beach that you might have visited, but think about how you perform when you actually get back to work.  That rest usually allows you to refocus and pick up your production.  The same principle of performing better after getting some rest also applies to your fitness goals.  When you get some needed rest, like taking a week off of the gym because you are on vacation, you will be reinvigorated and will perform better when you get back to it.  It is for this reason that I tell people to work hard and play hard, meaning bust your butt in the gym, but when you are allotted some time for a physical break from it, enjoy that to its fullest as well.  You don't have to keep at it every single day of the year.  Taking some time off will actually benefit you in the long run.

          Why do you take a vacation?  A very common answer is to take a break from the routine and allow your "batteries to recharge."  Vacations are often thought as being needed for that recovery to occur.  The same is true with vacations from your fitness goals, especially in terms of getting to the gym.  I know plenty of people who choose a hotel for their stay by whether or not it has a gym and the quality of it.  While this is admirable, I think it unnecessary and I tell people that I purposely do not even walk past a gym while I am on vacation.  I explain that it is just as important to allow your muscles to rest and relax from time to time as its important to break away from your regular routine.  When it comes to weight training, your muscles develop through a process of "tear and repair."  While training, you create micro tears in the muscle tissue that repairs with adequate recovery time.  Typically, it is referred to not train the same muscle group within a 48 hour period; this is to allow for the repair process to take place.  Well, if you are hitting it hard at the gym on a regular basis, taking a short break isn't going to harm you, it will actually allow more healing to occur.  I personally experience a stronger feeling at the gym after a week of rest.  Part of that is mental, but most of it is physical.  Of course the break shouldn't be too long, but if it is an extended break of a week or two after regularly putting the time in for months, it will be beneficial.  It is the concept of work hard, play hard.

         As I just mentioned, a break from working on your fitness goals isn't just beneficial from a physical perspective, but for a mental refresher as well.  I think a lot of what we have to do to achieve our fitness goals are needs more so than they are wants.  For example, you may want to lose 10 pounds of fat, but to do so, you will need to get to the gym regularly and maintain a healthy diet.  But, to meet those needs, we may have to do things that we typically don't want to do.  In a perfect world the foods that we need to eat would be the ones we want to eat, but we all know that isn't how it always is in reality.  Similarly, I hope you find physical activity that you enjoy doing as much as you know it is needed, but that isn't always the case.  But if you are someone that exercises regularly, and then you are forced to take a break for some reason, whether it be due to an injury, a vacation or some other reason, you usually become amped up to hit the gym again.  Following a recent temporary closing of the gym that I train at because they were undergoing renovations, which had kept me from training for a few days, I was both physically rested and pumped to hit the weights again when they reopened.  Not only did I feel physically good, but I was excited for my workout when I walked into the facility as opposed to feeling like I "HAD" to work out.  Again, if the break isn't so long that you forget where the gym is located, you may be more motivated and excited to go following a few more days off than you regularly take.

          While I cannot fully defend this idea of work hard play hard when it comes to nutritional goals, as I think some people may take this idea to an unhealthy level of binge and purge, and I feel that its easier to maintain healthy eating habits by making it a priority of your lifestyle, there is still some analogy with these fitness goals as well.  When it comes to maintaining a healthy diet, I think a big component of it is the concept of "everything in moderation."  I truly believe it is ok to have a cheeseburger from time to time as long as its not a regular food choice.  Furthermore, I think it is easier to avoid the foods you would "want" to eat by being able to enjoy them from time to time, as opposed to treating them as a poison that you should never touch.  I can't say it enough, that there of course needs to be a healthy balance of what is part of your regular diet and what is enjoyed from time to time.  However, I see nothing wrong with having some cake on your birthday, eating a whole bunch more than you normally would on a feast holiday like Thanksgiving, and enjoying some decadent menu items while on vacation IF you are normally maintaining a healthy diet.  As long as it is the exception and not the rule, its plenty fine to enjoy foods that you want to eat.

          There is a reason why the regular day-to-day is known as "the grind."  It can be hard, taxing and arduous.  And regiments that are needed for you to achieve your fitness goals are considered routines.  There is certainly a difference between work and play.  While I hope everyone has a job that they do enjoy, it shouldn't be too far of a reach that most of us would rather be at play than at work.  And I would bet that most of us look forward to a vacation that is booked as opposed to a meeting that is scheduled.  There is no reason why you shouldn't fully enjoy your time to play.  Vacations give us both the physical and mental breaks that allow us to unwind, decompress, and perform better when we are "back at it."  So, when you have an opportunity to kick your feet up, do so with your fitness routines as well.  Be guilt free if you have been working your tail off and now have a few days to take a break.  Your body and mind will be just as refreshed and ready to start again as the vacation makes you for your job.  Working hard, and playing hard is the refreshing way to reach a fit new you!