BLOG 4 : “The Rest Day Revolution” – Embracing balance, good times and BIG ENERGIES.
Are you the sort of mad cat who finds it harder to take rest days than you do to front up and train? Maybe you’re the type whose thoughts revolve around having to “get after it” on the daily, because if you don’t, you’re going backwards ? Well, that was me for a very long time, until more recent times anyway.
Over my 15 years of owning a gym and 20 plus years now of consistent and relatively hard training, one of the more unfortunate constants that I have wrestled with has been burnout/ feeling depleted, a plateau in results, and at times a completely unbalanced lifestyle as a result of my addictive traits playing out through fitness.
My intentions have always come from a good place, however there has regularly been an element of fear driving my decision making when it comes to training.
Fear of going backwards, fear of judgment from myself and from others, and the fear that if I wasn’t busting ass and moving the needle in the gym daily, I wasn’t achieving. Combine that with my obsessive personality and you have a serious recipe.
I would convince myself that I was just leading by example both for the members of The Chamber and especially for my 3 boys. But deep down, I knew I was pulling the wool over my own eyes and my efforts were actually moving me further away from health and vitality then closer to it.
Change was needed, so change I did.

This year, one of my goals was to flip the script when it came to my training habits by prioritizing and embracing rest days and recovery. I commited to and scheduled 2 rest days a week and it’s been an absolute game changer.
*For someone who has only ever not trained unless properly sick, nursing an insane hangover or crippled with ridiculous soreness for the better part of the past 20 years, this was actually a big mental shift.
I still train five days a week with solid intent, I probably always will to be honest, but now the quality, enjoyment, and connection in those sessions far surpasses what I’ve felt in a long time, simply by doing a little less and being ok with it.
My recovery is significantly better, my immunity to sickness is back to where it should be ( moving closer to health ) and the energy and time I’ve gained back has allowed me to give a lot more of the best of myself in other areas of life outside the gym, especially as an active Dad, something that is super important to me.
A subtle change delivering big returns, I’ll take it!
Not everyone will resonate with my experience, and that’s okay. You may already have the perfect balance for you. But if you are a little like me and you’re prone to burning the candle at both ends, I encourage you to take a second to reflect on and remember why you started in the first place, and know it’s okay to pump the brakes and take a breather, In fact, it’s necessary. Your mind, body, and future gains will thank you for it!
Good Luck team
#RESTHARD

