Rest and Recovery: When You Don’t Feel Like Working Out
Written by Lynn Valaes
We all have those days… the workout’s planned, but your body says “nope.” For women over 50, understanding rest and recovery is just as important as training itself.
Lazy or Just Tired?
There’s a big difference between being lazy and being legitimately tired.
If you’re just dragging your feet, a solid warm-up or a good playlist might snap you out of it. But if your body feels heavy, your energy’s tanked, or every move feels forced, that’s not laziness. That’s your body asking for mercy.
- Mental fatigue hits when you’re juggling too much – work, family, stress, maybe a few sleepless nights. Your brain’s exhausted, not your muscles.
- Physical fatigue shows up when your recovery systems are maxed out. You’re sore, slow to recover, maybe even weaker than usual.
Both are real. Both matter. Ignoring them doesn’t make you tougher, it just makes you burned out.
Rest and Recovery for Women Over 50: Why It’s Still Progress
Here’s the truth: your muscles don’t grow while you’re training, they grow when you recover. Rest helps your hormones rebalance, your joints recover, and your energy reset. Without it, you stay stuck in that “tired all the time” loop. During this downtime, your body is working to repair muscle fibers, restore glycogen stores (your body’s “giddy-up” juice), and balance hormones like cortisol and testosterone. That’s when the magic happens; muscle is built, not during the workout, but in recovery!
Signs It’s Time to Rest Instead of Rally
Ask yourself a few quick questions:
- Have I been sore for more than 3 days straight?
- Is my sleep restless or non-existent?
- Do I feel irritable, sluggish, or unmotivated even after warming up?
- Have my workouts been getting worse instead of better?
If you nodded yes to most of those, it’s your body waving a white flag. Think of movement that restores rather than depletes, like a walk, a stretch. Skipping the gym isn’t failure, so give yourself permission to slow down without guilt.
Remember
Consistency in fitness isn’t about never missing a day. It’s about listening, adapting, and taking care of the one body you’ve got. So if you wake up tomorrow and your body says, “Please, not today,” ~ trust it. Rest is not the opposite of progress; it’s part of it. So next time you’re dragging, remember: rest and recovery for women over 50 is what keeps you strong, not what sets you back.
Learn more about how we help women over 50 get stronger at Wise Women Fitness.
🧠 For Recovery Science & Exercise Fatigue
- Harvard Health: Why rest days are important for fitness
- Cleveland Clinic: The Importance of Rest Days in Your Fitness Routine
- American Council on Exercise (ACE): Understanding Recovery and Overtraining
- OrthoConneticut: The Importance of Strength Training for Women for Women Over 50