No one likes taking time off the bike, but a break could actually boost your progress overall. – By Molly Hurford

The idea of getting fitter by hanging up your bike, putting away your running shoes, and letting dust gather on your yoga mat might seem crazy, but taking time away from the workouts you love might actually make you better, faster, stronger, and happier in the long run. Here are 10 of the top reasons to take a few days off from exercise.

Take Time to Address Stress
Even if you love your workout, fitting it into your schedule means having less time to deal with other responsibilities. That can lead to stress, whether you realise it or not. Mental performance consultant Danelle Kabush, a former pro offroad triathloner in the US, says she often sees clients stressed from this imbalance in their lives. Take this exercise-free week to focus on other areas of your life (like family, work, and household) that you may have let slip, she advises.

Catch Up on Sleep
Use the hours you’d normally spend sweating to catch up on your ZZZs. One study shows that if you’re consistently only getting six hours of sleep a night, you’re functioning as poorly as someone who hasn’t gotten any sleep for two consecutive nights, even if you seem to feel fine. Test the theory: If you normally sleep six hours per night and exercise for an hour each day, shift that hour to give you seven in bed. Throughout the week, identify ways to keep that extra hour of sleep once you’ve added exercise back into your routine.

Avoid Workout Burnout
Whether you dig on cycling, spinning, or cross training, doing the same activity over and over can start to feel stale if you don’t come up for air every once in a while. Even if you love your sport, a few days away will only make getting back to it seem better. “You remember why you love it when you can’t do it!” says Kabush. There’s a reason the saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ has lasted so long.

Stretch It Out
Taking a week off gives you time to find some balance in your life—and your muscles. Whether that means using a foam roller a few times to hit those muscles that have gotten kinked up; getting a massage to target those uber-tight muscles; or hitting up a gentle yoga class or guided meditation session, do something kind for your body.

Your Brain Needs a Break
Exercise may be your stress release, but it still takes a mental toll on you—especially if you’re doing interval training or working on mastering technical skills for a specific sport, explains Kabush. Plus, the week off from skills can give you time to digest what you’ve learned and approach things fresh with when you get back at it; think of it like sleeping on a problem and waking up to a more calm mind and reasonable solution, says US based kinesiologist and cycling coach Peter Glassford.

Avoid Overtraining
Some of you might be familiar with overtraining syndrome, which develops from going too hard for too long, leaving you flat, fatigued, depressed, and tired. A dedicated recovery week can save you from the longer period of rest you’ll eventually require if you do get into an overtrained state. Once you’ve seriously overtrained, it can take months or years away from exercise to fully recover— makes that week seem shorter, doesn’t it?

Get Stronger
Weightlifters have a saying: “You don’t get stronger lifting weights, you get stronger from recovering from lifting weights.” Your body needs that time off to rebuild and let the adaptations from your training occur—so don’t be surprised if your week off makes you stronger and better able to hit those higher intensities by the end. “Anecdotally, I see a lot of personal bests after my athletes take more time off than they maybe wanted to,” says Glassford. You’ll be surprised at what your body can do when it’s not trying to recover.

Address the Little Things
Most athletes have niggling pains, from bad knees to sore hips to a tight lower back. A week off lets you take the time off to seek expert advice from a doctor, chiropractor, or physio. You can also use the week off to look critically at your nutrition by logging your meals to make sure you’re getting enough protein, eating your veggies, and taking in the right amount of healthy fats. While you’re at it, spring-clean your training plan, too: look at how you’re training and, with a coach or by yourself, investigate if there are any tweaks you’d like to make, or any new goals or races you want to add to your exercise schedule.

And lastly, indulge in some retail therapy as well: If your workout gear is getting worn out, spend some time replacing the truly beat-up gear with some new goodies so you’re even more motivated to get back the following week.

Re-Motivate, De-Aggravate
Feeling grumpy when you walk into the gym as of late? Irritability is often one of the first indicators that you’re training too much. That’s why it’s one of the main tests of overtraining in the Hooper MacKinnon Questionaire for athletes, commonly used during elite-level training camps. Take time to ask yourself, on a scale of 1 to 7, what your irritability level is, suggests Glassford. When you see it rising and staying up there, it might be time for a rest week. The time off should help alleviate your bad mood, or at least give you the free time to get to the root of why you’re aggravated.

Change Your Expectations
A rest week might help you get out of your own way in terms of your performance objectives. If you’re not reaching your goals, whether it’s in a group training session or a competition, a mental block could be holding you back, says Kabush. But if you’re fresh from a week off, it might be easier to get into the zone and have that great result, even if you’re not expecting it.

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