Ramona’s Trainer: Day of rest challenge

“Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest…”

You may recognize this verse from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament. There were a number of reasons for this in biblical times, to keep the sabbath, to rest your animals, laborers, yourself and even the land.

If you’re like me, REST can be a difficult task. We must make a deliberate effort to rest, to relax and to rejuvenate the heart, soul, mind and body.

This week I’d like to challenge you to take a complete day of rest. No yard projects, no strict eating, no working out and no office work.

Don’t set an alarm to wake up, and when your eyes crack open from that nocturnal slumber, don’t get out of bed. Lay there, maybe fall back to sleep, daydream a bit, relax and rest.

Don’t rush, and purposefully be at ease. Breathe deeply, stretch your arms, relax your mind and be at peace.

For this one day of the week, make little to no plans. It sounds simple, but guaranteed you will want to check your email, return a phone call and put in some sort of work, DON’T! If it’s truly an emergency, it will make itself known. In fact, many times what we think is urgent and a “must-do” task really isn’t and really can wait until Monday or when the work week begins.

This concept of six days of labor and the seventh day rest holds true for your fitness and nutrition. It’s a very good idea to do some sort of fitness six days a week. Yes, six days of fitness!!

This doesn’t mean a full-blown high intensity workout all six days. I’m a proponent of at least three days of resistance movement. This can be weights, bodyweight exercises, cables or tubing or anything that provides resistance to your muscles and gets them firing. Some sort of cardiorespiratory exercise up to all six days is fantastic. Mobility and stretching can also be done on a daily basis.

In regards to nutrition, eat clean and consistent during the six days and you’ll give yourself room to eat as you please on your day of rest. Don’t go hog wild, but let yourself have a little wiggle room and enjoy.

I hope this everlasting concept and command of taking a day of rest helps you live better, feel better and be more healthy.

Peter San Nicolas owns Ramona Fitness Center.