You fail victim to a skip day but do not fear. You can rebound from a skip day. A Skip day can obliterate your fitness goals and be a warning of something more serious. Let consistency and compliance inform you of how to succeed on a bodybuilding journey. Do not let a skip day ruin your self-esteem. Why do you think you feel so guilty on skip days?
Learn from these top 5 reasons people skip workouts:
- Not Enough Sleep
- Too Busy
- Chronic Fatigue
- Injuries
- Boring Workouts
A skip day does not hurt your progress in the gym and with your body. Use a skip day to your benefit. Your body sometimes uses skip days to tell you to slow down. Occasionally take a day off. However, too many skip days could be your body’s way of telling you that you need a new workout program. If you find yourself dreading your workout, then you need to get rid of your workout plan. Find a training program that motivates you. When you find the right program, you will beat everyone else to the gym. Don’t be afraid to change your workout program. Change causes excitement and gets new results. You can build muscle and burn fat in many ways, but all of them require you to stick with it.
Use these five ways to rebound from a skip day:
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Use your diet to rebound from a skip day. Experts say your diet accounts for 80% of the muscle you build and the fat you burn.
When it comes to building muscle or burning fat, your workout counts for 20% of your success. When you skip your workout, make sure you don’t take a break from your diet. To rebound from a skip day and reach your fitness goals, eat a perfect diet. Eat foods high in protein, zinc, vitamin D, potassium, and magnesium to build muscle and increase hormones. These foods give you an edge in building testosterone, human growth hormones, and IGF-1.
To burn fat, eat many green leafy vegetables with low calories, high fiber, vitamins, minerals, and water. Make sure to eat for energy, nutrients, and satiety on skip days. Use a skip day as a springboard to get ready for your next workout. You can build muscle by giving your body the fuel and resources it needs.
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Sleep 7 – 9 hours to spring back from a skip day. Sleep help builds and enhances muscle recovery through protein synthesis and human growth hormones released.
You do not build muscle in the gym. Food and sleep build muscle and burn fat as a response to exercise. Sleep places your body in a fasting state and provides you with the time you need to rebuild and repair muscle. The essential hormones: Testosterone, IGF-1, and HGH reach their highest levels while you sleep. Use sleep as a springboard that gets you ready for your next workout; after missing a workout no sense in feeling down. Becoming proactive helps you rebound and reach your goals faster. Create the right condition to get the best sleep of your life. Shut down the distractions and let your body do the rest.
Photo by Damir Spanic
Stand frequently to send the right signals to your body. Your hormones and neurotransmitters read and respond to your body language.
Experts say that sitting creates the same outcomes as smoking. Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the legs and butt muscles. Subsequently, it increases your risk of chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. Too much sitting can be bad for your emotional and mental health. With sitting, you get the worst of both worlds. It puts a lot of pressure on your skeletal system and deactivates large muscle groups.
By standing, you put all your muscles to work. It allows your organs and circulation system to function as nature intended. Standing also increases your metabolism and mood when performed at the right time. Many studies suggest correctly standing not only improves your muscular-skeletal system but also increases vital hormones that aid in the growth of muscles. Start thinking of bodybuilding as a lifestyle, not something that only happens in the gym.
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Natural activities do a great job of helping you rebound from a skip day. Experts say natural activities count for 15% of your metabolism.
Sometimes your mind needs a break or a change of scenery. Scientific research reveals, changing the direction you travel to work can significantly reduce stress. Try something new when you start to get bored of the same old thing. Activities like walking in the park, going on a hike, or playing basketball allow you to exercise your mind and emotions and your body. Playing can be a viable substitute for working out. Bodybuilding requires you to build muscle and burn fat. Use playing as an activity to burn fat.
Wash the car, cut the grass, or clean the house to tone muscles and burn some fat. You can use them to prevent a skip day from sabotaging your fitness goals. Most natural activities are compound exercises that increase your speed, agility, balance, and strength. They require you to use your entire body. By performing natural movements, you work your muscles, burn fat, and activate hormones that yield better results as you sleep.
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Use your skip day to do some fitness research. By learning about new exercises, workouts, or foods, you improve your results.
No doubt you have heard the saying “knowledge is power.” Learning about new things allows you to try them. It is best to learn as much as you can about your options. That way you can choose the best option for you.
In addition to learning, research also sparks your interest and keeps your focus on fitness. Motivation prevents you from skipping workouts. Trying new things causes excitement and creates buzz around your workout. You don’t have to overhaul your workout to add one or two new exercises. Your workout, diet, and activities must fit your lifestyle and personality. By doing fitness research, you can discover what works best for you.
Photo by Chris Ralston
What should a skip day for a morning workout look like?
If you skip a morning workout, focus on your breakfast. You can now use that extra time to prepare the perfect breakfast. You can cook an omelet with spinach, bell peppers, onions, cheese, and bacon in it. Eat foods that give you energy, burn fat, and build muscle.
After breakfast, go to work and make sure you stand more than you sit. Standing during the day burns more calories, increases energy levels, and gives your legs and butt some a needed workout. For lunch, drink one or two protein shakes depending on your calorie needs. After lunch, go back to work and spend your afternoon standing and networking with colleagues. Make sure to drink water and take an extra restroom break or two.
After work, you can walk around the park. Then stop by the grocery store. Park further away so you can get those extra steps in. Take time to be curious and friendly with others. While at the grocery store, stay out of the center aisles where all the junk food resides. Buy some fish (salmon or red snapper), avoid catfish and tilapia.
Also, buy vegetables, fruits, and potatoes. Then go home and cook the fresh food you just purchased. For dessert, eat a bowl of raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Don’t forget to flush it down with water. After dinner, you can do an hour’s worth of fitness research – read an article, watch a YouTube video, or check out a new workout program or soundtrack. After that, take a hot bath and retire to bed early.
Photo by Christiann Koepke
What should a skip day for an afternoon workout look like?
The emphasis on skipping an afternoon workout should be the same, but the times will be different. Build your strategy around 24 hours. Perform the interventions in reverse order for the afternoon workout
- begin – after work
- walk in the park
- grocery shop
- cook dinner
- complete fitness research
- take a hot bath
- go to bed
- cook breakfast
- go to work
- stand more frequently at work
- drink water and go to the restroom frequently
- end – driving home
Photo by Adrian Pawel
You can determine what a skip day means to you by what you do with it. Use your skip days wisely to add value to your bodybuilding journey.
Turn your skip day from a negative to a positive. Achieve your bodybuilding journey with cumulative and balanced activities such as your diet, playing, shopping, walking, sleeping, relationships, and working out. When you slack in one area, you can make up for it in another place. Instead of worrying about a skip day, change up your routine while still focusing on your goals. Also, use your concerns about your skip day as a reflection and teachable moment.
Consider what your skip day may be saying about your workout. You may be working out too hard with the wrong workout plan. Looking forward to the gym shows that your workout plan motivates, not discourages you. Too many skip days signify that your training plan does not fit your personality or lifestyle. If you work out with a trainer or partner, keep the communication lines open. Always let them know your thoughts and feelings. Whatever you do, make sure it works for you!
