I started doing boot camp on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays about two months ago. I love it. I didn’t realize how much I missed going to boot camp! I really enjoy challenging myself and having someone to encourage me and tell me that I can do just one more rep (because every time I hear that, I end up being able to do two more reps, even if I thought at first that I didn’t have anything else left in me). But since I started doing boot camp again, I’ve also missed a few classes – and it’s been great.

Every couple weeks or so, I wake up on a boot camp day at 5am and think to myself, “ugh. I’m tired. I am not prepared to get my ass kicked today.” And on those days, I sleep in the extra hour and a half before it’s time to get out of bed for work. And I get through my day feeling quite refreshed.

The best part about doing this is that I find that it makes me even more excited for boot camp the next time around. If I take Friday off, by Monday I’m jumping out of bed and even lifting extra weights at boot camp. By taking a day off every once in a while, I’m reminding myself why I love to work out, and my muscles start to miss the intensity of the 45-minute class.

There’s a lot of value to taking some time off, and to letting yourself relax without feeling guilty over it. If you tell yourself that you can never miss a workout, there’s going to come a day when for some reason or another you have to cancel your workout, and you’re going to cause yourself a lot of stress and guilt over it. But if you tell yourself that it’s okay to miss a workout every once in a while, you’re going to be able to do it guilt-free, and it will make you that much more ready for the next workout.

(The trick, of course, is to make sure that missing classes doesn’t become a habit!)

As always, living healthy in the real world is about striking a good balance! What do you do to make sure your healthy habits stay balanced?