10 Days No Gym? You’re Crazy, Man

Whatever am I going to do? My gym has decided to close for ten days for what they are calling a major refurb. A few years ago, even a year ago, I would’ve done anything to make sure I had access to a gym for at least seven of the ten days. But when I told my fellow gym goers that I will probably take the time to rest, they looked at me as if I was crazy.

Before you start saying how could the gym leave you stranded just like that, which is indeed frustrating, I would like to set the record straight. They did provide us access to a couple of their other gyms during this time of closure. However, these gyms are a lot further from my house and the travel time with my current schedule extremely diminishes my training time to pretty much nothing. But I would still have access to a gym if I really wanted. 

I love training and it and fitness as a whole is an extremely important part of my life and has been for many years. In fact, I find it more difficult not to go than to go. People who know me from the gym, know how much and hard I train. We always joke that I’m as much a part of the furniture as the bench press. So it was no surprise that as we all discussed the closures, with each individual saying which gym they were going to, they were in disbelief when I said I was just going to take the days off.  

Yes, ten days is a bit excessive. The most I would ever usually rest by choice is a week. Even on holiday, I train most days of the week. When the gyms were closed during the lockdowns, I found a way to train several times a week with equipment within the rules to go alongside my home exercise. While it may seem like this isn’t a choice because the gym is closed, it really is, in fact, my choice. 

There is no way that I wouldn’t be able to find a gym if I really wanted to. I could easily get my hands on guest passes to gyms that my friends go to which are more local to me. I have even been invited to access a gym or two. However, I have made the decision to take the time off and give myself some extra recovery that I know my body really needs.

Having said that, ten days is a long time. So it’s not my plan to just use the time to sit on the couch and watch TV and be completely inactive. There is a world out there that can be used for physical activity. Long light walks are high on the agenda as well as possibly the use of the park bars and green space for a bit of body weight and calisthenics. The weather is currently good, so I will take advantage of that a little bit.

As important as it is to rest, I’m often reluctant to take time off. I do take time to rest, but usually as little time as I can get away with. So for me to take extra time off is not just a surprise to my fellows, but almost a surprise to myself at the steadfastness of my decision. I’m also interested in seeing how I feel about it by the end and my mental state with this extended break. 

There are so many different ways to exercise and while I will be mostly resting over these next ten days, I will stay away from anything heavy and intense. But rest assured, I will be using the wider world out there for some active recovery.