I wake up and dry, desert sunshine peeps through the slats of the shades. A palm tree appears perfectly framed by the window when I stand. This, I think, is a vacation.
Wait a minute. Am I dreaming? Division I athletes don’t take breaks.
The reminder comes in the form of a 7 a.m. text from my coach. Today’s workout: 15 one-minute runs with 30 seconds rest.
Training through breaks is expected for athletes. Just because school’s out doesn’t mean your fitness takes a timeout. Staying in shape and working out through vacations means staying ahead of the competition.
I was fully aware of this when I closed my cell phone that morning in Vegas. And still, I made a conscious decision not to work out. After 6 weeks of 7 a.m. lifting four times a week and 6:30 a.m. practice on Fridays, I was ready for a break.
While it’s hard to do, overtraining is detrimental for any athlete’s performance. I wasn’t worried about that. But the mental grind of working out – even for 22.5 minutes – takes the break out of any vacation.
Deciding not to work out on my vacation is like a businessman leaving his work cell at home. He knows he’s missing calls just like I know my competitors probably worked out, but the need for a mental break trumped any guilty feelings.
Practice started again today and I survived. No harm done by my five days off; not any that I know of anyway. Have you taken a break lately? If you haven’t, try it – you won’t regret it.
That’s great that you were able to take a break and not feel guilty. This will sound funny, but over fall break one of my mom’s oldest friends was in town. I haven’t seen her in 10 years and when I was little we used to do arts and crafts together. So, as usually happens when she’s around, we ended up making these headbands. We bought 15 plain ones from Target and then basically raided Michael’s and Jo-ann Fabrics for stuff to decorate them with. In the end, I didn’t get all the homework done I needed to over the weekend, but I have 15 awesome headbands and lots of fun memories! Deep down I do still feel guilty about the homework, but I don’t feel guilty for taking the time to do that with her. It was really fun. And I feel less guilty now that I know you don’t feel guilty for not working out. Glad to know I’m not the only one who needs a break sometimes! Also, what were you doing in Vegas?? Lucky!
Ha! I’m glad my laziness justifies your laziness. It’s not even being lazy though, really. Rest is so underrated in our go-go-go society. Taking a break to do something you enjoy (especially when it’s nothing) is looked down upon. Isn’t that the point though, to do things you enjoy? Otherwise, what’s IS the point?
Oh and I was visiting family in Vegas. I was very lucky indeed.
Uhhhhmmmm, I think I have been on a break from working out for about three years now. That sounds terrible, I know. But I think it’s good that you took a break. As I was reading the beginning of your post, I was thinking to myself, “Don’t do it!” I think breaks are important to take. Sleep is more important after six weeks of waking up at the crack of dawn and then going to class and doing homework afterwards. One question: Were you going to get in trouble if you didn’t do your workout? I hope you didn’t!
When I was in cross-country, I literally dreaded Saturday mornings. I hated waking up at 6 am after a Friday night for a ten-mile run. It didn’t help that I had at least 3 hours of dance practice afterwards. Sleep is SO underrated, especially for our age group. They keep telling us to wash our hands and cover our mouths to prevent H1N1 this season. Maybe if they made us rest more, less people would get sick in the first place!