Why Taking Time Away is Good for Motivation

Sometimes we just get burned out. Our bodies are tired and we’re just “not feeling it” when it’s time to work out. No matter how dedicated you are to your fitness and nutrition goals, it will happen to you, too.

I’ve gone through several periods in the last year when I’ve really struggled with finding the time or motivation to work out. So I’ve taken some time off this year.

On the downside, time away usually means a loss of the physical gains you’ve made. We can lose muscle quickly, in as little as one week of inactivity. And if you’re fit? You’ll lose muscle more quickly than someone who isn’t fit.

But there are actually some reasons why time away is good for you and your progress. 

For one, you’re not actually going into muscle atrophy when you take time away from the workouts. You’re still moving your body, though not training it as it’s used to. But because you’re still getting around and doing your day-to-day activities, your muscles are shrinking–not disappearing altogether.

More importantly, however, you gain something important that you may have lost in all your hard training days: motivation and the joy of the exercise.

I’ve made it no secret that I have a really hard time sticking to a long workout program. I get bored easily and I like to mix things up. It’s one of the reasons why I play tennis regularly. 

But sometimes the time and motivation it takes to show up for my beloved sport even wanes. It starts to feel like a chore because I want to play well and, let’s face it, the Arizona heat doesn’t help much.

I was recently away from tennis for about five weeks, because of volleyball trips with Lucy and time spent up north. At the end of the five weeks, I was incredibly excited to get back on the court. It took a practice or two to feel like I was back where I was before, but I don’t feel like that’s very long.

And even better, I forgot some of my bad habits in my time away, which means the gains to my game were quick.

If it’s a Beachbody workout regime that you’re taking a break from, you may feel the same. You’ll probably feel a lot of muscle soreness that you’re not used to, but once you get your nutrition back in check you’ll feel better faster.

It’s important to start slow, despite the excitement you feel about getting back into it. And to look at the habits you’ve gained since your break started.

The more you can curb the bad habits you developed in your time off, the faster you’ll gain back what you lost. And again, if you were fit going into a break, your body will remember.