HackTwat
MuscleChemistry Registered Member
Skipping The Gym: Rest vs Laziness
How many of us go through the whole mental process day in and day out. The process of Preparation. As soon as our eyes open and our feet hit the floor, we start our day with purpose. Some of us even head straight to the scale to weigh while holding our need to pee just so we have that extra weight to add to our ever elusive goal..... Gains!! Of course, none of us are obsessive enough to do that. Right? After relieving ourselves, we then head straight to the kitchen to consume the first of several meals for the day. That is unless you're counting that middle of the night protein shake as the present day meal plan or the previous day. Regardless, the day is structured around meal after another, or better yet, one meal after another is worked into a busy day of work and commitments. We're not all blessed enough to make Bodybuilding the main priority in day to day life. So, while most of us go about our life of work, family and what garners our attention, we still manage to keep our focus on how to add that extra pound or shed that layer of body fat. 4 things must be incorporated into any successful program. Eat, Train, Rest and Sleep. Some people list Rest and Sleep in the same category, but I believe you must have both. You can Rest without sleeping and vice versa, but that is another subject entirely.
Let's concentrate on Training. There are a world of things that keep us from Training. Most of us can come up with every excuse under the sun to skip the gym. "I didn't eat my pre-workout meal soon enough", "I ate my pre-workout meal too late", "I tweaked my shoulder yesterday", "I only have 35 minutes to workout and everyone knows you have to workout a full hour", "It's Chest day and my partner isn't here to spot me",......blah, blah, blah. The list is endless. Then there are things out of our control. Life in general is enough to warrant a good excuse to skip the gym. When your work schedule gets changed unexpectedly or the wife needs you to stop for milk after work. Or maybe you didn't eat your pre-workout meal in the allotted time you had set in your mind after all. The real question here is "are you going to let this, whatever it is, keep you from achieving your goals?
If the answer is yes, then my question to myself is what am I going to do to use it to my advantage? Let's face it. Sometimes Shit Happens. Just like the T-Shirt says. But, we don't have to allow one set back to keep us from achieving our main goal. We have to be flexible to rearrange our mindset. Adjust to what life throws and continue moving forward. We put too much time and energy into our program to be set back now. We haven't gotten this far by skipping the gym every time something comes up. But when we have to miss a training session, it doesn't have to be the worst thing in the world. I used to beat myself up if I missed a day at the gym. I convinced myself it was just Laziness and I should have been better prepared somehow. But, in reality life doesn't really care how prepared I am. How I react to a missed day is up to me. I work hard in the gym and what I don't realize most of the time is that I do not get enough rest. So, when I have to miss a day I consider it a rest day. It is extremely hard to do because like the rest of you I have goals. And, what my mind wants to tell me is "Your Lazy" and you need to Train, Train, Train!!! But, Training is only one important part of the program. It doesn't deserve any more attention than Rest, Nutrition or Sleep. Actually, out of the 4 Training gets the least attention. I'm not saying its not important because we all know without training we cannot break down the muscle and grow. I am saying that most of us do not rest enough, so one day off is not Laziness. Just call it a Rest day and make the preparations for the next day.
AUSTIN
How many of us go through the whole mental process day in and day out. The process of Preparation. As soon as our eyes open and our feet hit the floor, we start our day with purpose. Some of us even head straight to the scale to weigh while holding our need to pee just so we have that extra weight to add to our ever elusive goal..... Gains!! Of course, none of us are obsessive enough to do that. Right? After relieving ourselves, we then head straight to the kitchen to consume the first of several meals for the day. That is unless you're counting that middle of the night protein shake as the present day meal plan or the previous day. Regardless, the day is structured around meal after another, or better yet, one meal after another is worked into a busy day of work and commitments. We're not all blessed enough to make Bodybuilding the main priority in day to day life. So, while most of us go about our life of work, family and what garners our attention, we still manage to keep our focus on how to add that extra pound or shed that layer of body fat. 4 things must be incorporated into any successful program. Eat, Train, Rest and Sleep. Some people list Rest and Sleep in the same category, but I believe you must have both. You can Rest without sleeping and vice versa, but that is another subject entirely.
Let's concentrate on Training. There are a world of things that keep us from Training. Most of us can come up with every excuse under the sun to skip the gym. "I didn't eat my pre-workout meal soon enough", "I ate my pre-workout meal too late", "I tweaked my shoulder yesterday", "I only have 35 minutes to workout and everyone knows you have to workout a full hour", "It's Chest day and my partner isn't here to spot me",......blah, blah, blah. The list is endless. Then there are things out of our control. Life in general is enough to warrant a good excuse to skip the gym. When your work schedule gets changed unexpectedly or the wife needs you to stop for milk after work. Or maybe you didn't eat your pre-workout meal in the allotted time you had set in your mind after all. The real question here is "are you going to let this, whatever it is, keep you from achieving your goals?
If the answer is yes, then my question to myself is what am I going to do to use it to my advantage? Let's face it. Sometimes Shit Happens. Just like the T-Shirt says. But, we don't have to allow one set back to keep us from achieving our main goal. We have to be flexible to rearrange our mindset. Adjust to what life throws and continue moving forward. We put too much time and energy into our program to be set back now. We haven't gotten this far by skipping the gym every time something comes up. But when we have to miss a training session, it doesn't have to be the worst thing in the world. I used to beat myself up if I missed a day at the gym. I convinced myself it was just Laziness and I should have been better prepared somehow. But, in reality life doesn't really care how prepared I am. How I react to a missed day is up to me. I work hard in the gym and what I don't realize most of the time is that I do not get enough rest. So, when I have to miss a day I consider it a rest day. It is extremely hard to do because like the rest of you I have goals. And, what my mind wants to tell me is "Your Lazy" and you need to Train, Train, Train!!! But, Training is only one important part of the program. It doesn't deserve any more attention than Rest, Nutrition or Sleep. Actually, out of the 4 Training gets the least attention. I'm not saying its not important because we all know without training we cannot break down the muscle and grow. I am saying that most of us do not rest enough, so one day off is not Laziness. Just call it a Rest day and make the preparations for the next day.
AUSTIN
