Whether you are a die-hard gym-junkie or a “start and stopper” (you start a fitness program, follow it diligently for several weeks or months, then stop), or somewhere in between, no doubt you’ve hit a point when you were either:

• Tired of exercise
• Tired of the gym
• Tired of your routine
• Tired of not making steady progress…

I could add more, but I think you get the point: at some point, your exercise routine, no matter how regimented (or not) it is, might get stale. Psst…I have a secret: An often over-looked, but very important, component of that plan is “recovery” time!

Recovery time is built into fitness plans to allow the body time to rest. During this built-in rest time, lots of good stuff happens. Muscles rebuild themselves and metabolic changes take place at a cellular level. There is a lot going on when we exercise that we may not feel or see. Without recovery days, the body can’t properly rebuild and repair. Miss these important rest days enough times, and several things may occur:

• Burn out
• Injury
• Lack of progress (you won’t see further adaptations – you’ll “plateau”)

Follow this “Rule of Thumb”: 1-2 days of rest per week, not necessarily in a row. For weight training, switching to a cardiovascular activity the following day, or training different muscle groups, will allow the muscles previously trained time to adapt and recover. The same goes for cardiovascular activity: after several days in a row of cardio, a day of rest or cross-training is a good idea. This will give you a chance to work different muscles and allow the muscles typically used a chance to rest. So if you are a runner, cross-training with cycling or swimming gives the “running” muscles a chance to rest. This is why Triathlon training is often called the perfect “triad” — cross-training is built in!

A couple of weeks ago (sorry it has take me this long to follow up ;0), I blogged about Exercising Too Hard, Too Long, Too Often, and shortly after, my in box filled with questions about “overtraining.” The most popular question by far was, “how do I back off my routine without stopping exercise completely?” I have an answer…

If you feel that you are overtraining, backing off your exercise routine for a short time isn’t a bad idea. Start by cutting back to 70% of your current routine. For example, if you currently run 25 miles per week, run 70% of that instead (17.5) for a couple of weeks. If you strength train 4 times per week, 12 reps per exercise, 2-3 sets per exercise, multiply all of the components by 70%, so: 1-2 days/week of training, 8-9 reps per exercise, 1-2 sets of each, and also reduce the weight you lift by 70%. If you leg press 100 lbs, press 70lbs instead. Get the idea.

Basically, you want to give your body a rest without stopping exercising all together. This will help maintain your fitness level while also maintaining your mental state. Stop exercising completely, and within a couple of days you’ll likely notice that you feel a tad depressed. In some cases, you might feel really depressed – everyone is different. This phenomenon is called “exercise withdrawal” and you want to avoid it like the plague. Remember, exercise helps the body release endorphins. Endorphins feel good. Really good. This is why you like to exercise – maybe too much ;0) Again, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but too much of anything is never good.

Tomorrow…what to do if you can’t slow down or stop exercising!

As you might guess from my lack of presence on this block, summer is a very busy time, and I know this is true for just about everyone (and you’re all nodding, “yes, my kids over-run my schedule too!”), so my “theme” for the week is all about making “healthy choices in a snap.”

It is super easy to slack off during the summer. C’mon, you know what I mean…the pool is more enticing than a trip to the gym, the longer days (often filled with kid-focused activities, which, less face it, suck the life right out of even the most energetic mom, and if you are like me and work from home, it is difficult to get any work done, much less a “work-out.”) Enter moi – also known as your kick in the butt.

You CAN still fit healthy activities and healthy foods into your busy days, it just takes a little more creativity.

Try these tips:

1. Include the kids. Outdoor games, family walks and bike rides,
2. Include your pet. Your dog needs a daily walk, right? Follow these tips for exercising outdoors with your dog.
3. Carve out small bits of time for exercise. You can accomplish a lot in just 10 minutes – seriously, you can!
4. Travel with fitness in mind. With a little planning, there isn’t any reason you can’t exercise while vacationing. I know, you might not want to, but it can be done.
5. Can’t get to the gym? Work out at home. Follow these tips for stocking your home gym with all of the basics.

Easy Peasy Recipes for summer

Stir Fried Chicken Tenders from Eating Well

Old-fashioned Spaghetti & Meatballs from Eating Well

The EatingWell Taco

Ravioli w/ Apples and Walnuts from Real Simple

Roasted Pork w/ Brussel Sprouts and Apricots

There, that should get you started. And also remember that you don’t have to take the “all or nothing” approach. Set out to do something that serves as exercise, and try to make healthy food choices – save the strict nutrition regimen and long, tough workouts for the fall when you have a bit more time for you! Summer is meant to be enjoyed, so go – enjoy.