My Very First Rest Day

Yesterday was my 146th day of exercise in a row.  It started with a WOD at the gym followed by 6+ softball games in a local tournament.  It was a great day and 573fitness came out on top after a five extra-inning championship game.  My first time playing softball in over five years and I still got it.

If you remember, my original workout challenge was to exercise 90 days in a row(read blog post here), which turned out to be a lot easier than I first imagined.  And really sprung me into this amazing and fun new lifestyle where I look forward all day to the moment I get to go to the gym.  On my 91st day, I wrote of my transformation where I gained my new mindset and determined what I was going to do next-- 180 days of exercise in a row.

In the past 146 days, I have walked, swam, played tennis and volleyball, dragon boat raced, white water rafted, ran a 5k, got closer to my goal of a ten-minute mile, averaged six crossfit workouts a week and competed in two competitions.  It's been fantastic, but also extremely tiring at times.   

So today, Day 147, I am taking my very first rest day.

I have no doubt I could have kept going to day 180 and beyond.  But when I think about what my real goal is here-- it's not to exercise a certain number of days in a row, but to live a healthier and more fulfilling life.  The only way I'm going to do that is if I am healthy in all areas, not just the gym.

My workouts have been great and I'm starting to step them up by doing extra workouts with a small group of girls at the gym.  But I still struggle with eating the right things, drinking enough water and probably the biggest one-- getting enough sleep to function properly.

Those are the things that need my focus now, but I will not let up on the exercise.  I've decided to allow myself one rest day a week if I really need it. That way I still have something I have to work towards each week, but I can give myself a break and flexibility when I need it.

What I've Learned
While it was sometimes difficult to get a workout in during the past 4.5 months, it was  NEVER impossible.  One thing I have learned through all of this is that there really is NO EXCUSE.  We will always be busy, we will also have a million things going on and conflicts that come up, but if you are being truly honest with yourself, you know that the only excuse for not making it to the gym or eating the right things, is that you simply did not want to badly enough.

I'm not saying that important things don't come up or that you don't deserve to splurge a bit every once in a while. I have a lot of work to do in this area, but I now know it is all up to me-- I'm the only thing that can stop me from getting where I want to be.

I have definitely sacrificed plenty in the past 146 days by making my workouts and me a priority for the first time in a long time.  It's been challenging, it's changed some of my relationships with friends and family, but more than anything it has been one of the most rewarding things I've done.  And I don't plan to stop.