Is it okay to go the whole weekend without exercising?
This question came up in one of our Q&As recently and I think so many of us can relate to it.
Maybe you don’t normally exercise at weekends, but by Sunday afternoon that little voice starts creeping in.
“Should I really have done something?”
“Have I been a bit lazy?”
“Am I going to lose all the progress I’ve made this week?”
If that sounds familiar, I promise you’re not the only one.
The short answer is yes. It is absolutely okay to take the whole weekend off. In fact, for a lot of us, it’s one of the best things we can do.
Will two days off make me lose fitness?
No. This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions in fitness.
It actually takes around two to three weeks of complete inactivity before we start to lose muscle, and around two weeks before we’d notice a real drop in our fitness. Two days simply isn’t enough to undo a week’s worth of good habits.
The truth is, we don’t get fitter because of one workout. We get fitter because of what we do consistently over weeks, months and years. Exactly the same is true the other way round. We don’t lose our fitness because we had one weekend off.
The guilt usually isn’t about the exercise itself. It’s about the story we’re telling ourselves. We start wondering whether we’ve done enough, or comparing ourselves to people online who seem to be exercising every day. Before we know it, we’re feeling bad for simply having a weekend.
Rest is part of the plan
One thing I always remind the Squad is that we don’t actually get fitter during the workout. We get fitter afterwards.
Every workout places stress on the body. If we’re strength training, we’re creating tiny tears in our muscles. Cardio challenges our heart and lungs. Even Pilates places demands on our muscles and nervous system.
We then need time to recover from all of that. That’s when our body repairs itself, adapts and gets stronger. If we never allow that recovery to happen, we’re asking our muscles to keep working without giving them the chance to repair properly.
More isn’t always better
It’s easy to think that squeezing in another workout will get us to our goal quicker.
Sometimes the opposite is true.
If we’re constantly training, constantly tired and never recovering properly, we often stop seeing progress because our body simply hasn’t had the chance to recover.
Recovery isn’t being lazy. It’s part of training.
Even elite athletes build recovery into their training plans because they know it’s what allows them to keep improving. Rest isn’t something that’s added in if there’s time. It’s part of the plan.
Recovery looks different for all of us
Recovery isn’t the same for everyone.
If you’ve gone from doing very little exercise to suddenly working out four or five times a week, your body is naturally going to need longer to adapt than someone who’s been training consistently for years.
The same can be true during perimenopause and menopause, when many women find they need a little more recovery than they used to.
Sleep, stress, work, children, hormones… they all play a part.
That’s why comparing your routine to somebody else’s rarely helps.
Before you do a workout this weekend, ask yourself why
If you wake up on Saturday morning and genuinely fancy going for a run or joining a workout because it sounds enjoyable, brilliant.
Go for it.
But if you’re only doing it because you feel guilty for resting, I’d pause for a second.
Ask yourself:
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Have I moved my body enough this week?
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Have I looked after myself?
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Am I exercising because I want to, or because I feel like I should?
They’re two very different reasons.
Remember what exercise is really for
Exercise is there to help us stay strong, healthy and able to enjoy life for as long as possible.
Sometimes the best thing we can do for our progress isn’t another workout. Sometimes it’s having a slower weekend, spending time with family, going for a walk, or simply giving ourselves a chance to recover.
So if you’ve reached Sunday evening and you’re feeling guilty because you haven’t exercised this weekend, remind yourself that two days off isn’t going to undo months or years of consistency.
If anything, you’ll probably come back on Monday feeling fresher, stronger and ready to go again.
That’s exactly what a good rest day is supposed to do.
Ready to build a routine that actually fits around real life?
If you’re fed up with feeling like you’re either “all on” or “all off”, that’s exactly why I created The Squad.
Our workouts are designed to fit around busy lives, with recovery built into the plan, so you can make progress without feeling like fitness has to take over your week.
Find out more and join The Squad today.
🎧 This blog was inspired by one of our weekly Squad Q&As. If you enjoy these kinds of conversations, you can also listen to the Lorna Marie Fitness Podcast on YouTube and Spotify.
