11 Good Reasons For Skipping A Workout

No matter how dedicated you are to working out and achieving your physical fitness goals, there are some days when you just don't feel like it. Maybe you're too tired, enjoying your vacation, or your hectic schedule simply won't allow it. Regardless of the reason, when those days come, the couch seems like better company than your gym partner. You may feel guilty at first and beat yourself up for the missed workout. After all, regular exercise is an important element of maintaining a strong, functional body and a healthy lifestyle. But there are a number of good reasons for skipping a workout that is actually just as important for your overall health and well-being.

Skipping a workout now and again, or building rest days into your exercise routine, can actually be beneficial for your fitness goals. According to Better by Today, studies have shown that recovery times after a strength training workout range from two days up to one full week. It can also benefit your mental health. "Your body and mind both need time to recover for overall health and in order to achieve optimal performance," board-certified sports medicine physician James Ting, M.D. tells Daily Burn.

But how do you know for sure if you're skipping a workout for good reasons or if you're just being lazy? Below are 11 situations most professionals agree are excellent times for taking a break from exercise and the benefits of doing so.

If you injure yourself while working out or in an accident outside the gym, the best thing you can do for yourself and your body is rest. You may be tempted to power through the pain, but this can actually worsen your injury. "People that continue to power through after an injury or when in pain and don't give their body time to heal can — and most likely will — end up causing a much worse injury either now or in the near future," Juliet Kaska tells The Zoe Report. Once an injury has occurred, Kaska recommends resting the injured area for up to five days or until symptoms improve.

"I think it's important to think of a few days off as crucial to rehab a minor injury — not only to prevent a more significant injury that would result in even more missed time — but also as the recovery that's important for performance," physical therapist Lauren Lou D.P.T., C.S.C.S tells Shape. "A lot of athletes think about training as making gains and rest as missed gains, but it's not completely true. The body needs rest and recovery in order to maximize the benefit from training and working out." If you must work out, go slowly and focus on low-impact workouts or modify exercises to rest the injured area.

Not having time to work out is a frequent excuse for people that simply don't want to exercise. But, sometimes, you really just don't have the time. The world is a fast-paced, sometimes stressful place and it can be overwhelming trying to juggle your daily responsibilities while simultaneously tending to your physical and mental health. This may lead to you becoming a victim of burnout, the negative effects of which can spill over into every aspect of your life, including your workouts. When your schedule is jam-packed with home, work, and social obligations, dropping a workout now and again for more restful activities may give you the break you need to feel more balanced.

Even if you're too busy to make it to the gym you should still try to move your body throughout the day, as doing so can help manage the stress from an overly-busy schedule. According to the U.S. News & World Report, carving out as many 10-minute increments of time in your day to do some form of easy activity as possible can be beneficial. You can stretch at your desk, do some yoga, or maybe fit in a couple of rounds of your favorite bodyweight exercise. If all you have time for is a 10-minute walk around the block, go for the walk, and don't worry about skipping the HIIT workout you planned on doing instead.

It is perfectly healthy to work out during your period. Doing so can actually be an effective way to lessen cramps, reduce bloating, and improve your overall mood. Furthermore, there is no scientific evidence that having your period inhibits your ability to exercise the same way you would when you're not on your period. However, if you're suffering from extremely low energy levels and have painful menstrual cramps that normal exercise isn't touching, it's okay to skip your workout and rest instead.

"During the menstrual cycle, we feel the most run-down, because the progesterone is high and estrogen is low," Dr. Hall tells Insider. "I think that we need recovery days, so it's fine to modify your exercise to restorative yoga or gentle weight lifting. When we are exhausted, we don't want to do a full-on exercise."

If that weren't enough permission to take a rest day, some evidence suggests that working out on your period can also lead to more injuries, particularly in the joints. This is because period-related hormones can cause a softening in ligaments and connective tissues. "That increases your risk of sustaining a major injury, like an ACL tear, during that time," Rami Hashish, Ph.D., a body performance and injury expert,  tells Well+Good. Ultimately, whether you work out on your period or not, it is important to listen to your body and what it really needs.

During exercise, the fibers in your muscles stretch and experience microscopic tears causing stiff, sore muscles post-workout. This feeling, which often occurs as the result of strength training, is called Delay Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS. Generally, DOMS lasts two to three days, but can last up to a week depending on your current fitness level and workout intensity. It can be tempting to push through the discomfort and adopt a "no pain, no gain" mentality. But not allowing your sore muscles to rest and recover properly is quite dangerous, and puts you at higher risk for serious muscle tears or tissue damage.

Active recovery, or participating in gentle, low-impact movements during your period of rest is important for helping your body heal and stay healthy without increasing your risk for injury. Swimming, walking, and yoga are all great exercises to help alleviate some of that uncomfortable soreness. However, if you can't perform basic activities like walking up and down stairs, getting out of bed, or rolling off the couch, you're probably too sore to work out. Furthermore, if gentle movement makes the soreness worse, you should opt for rest.

Believe it or not, there is such a thing as too much exercise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults participate in a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity for optimal health benefits. But there are no hard and fast rules on what that physical activity entails. There are plenty of days when you get enough activity simply living your life. Maybe you help someone move, do yard work, or spend the day as a volunteer dog walker at your local animal shelter. Not only are these activities good for the soul, but they allow you to break out of your normal exercise routine and try new things.

Choosing to overwork your body on particularly active days may actually have consequences for your health. According to Women's Care, too much activity can lead to bone and muscle injuries like sprains, stress fractures, and shin splints. It can also cause fatigue and depression, disrupt your metabolism, and negatively impact your relationships with friends and family. However you get in a substantial amount of activity, if you are moving your body and feel too tired afterward to fit in an "actual" workout, feel free to skip it and enjoy some well-deserved rest. Your body and mind will thank you.