Working out can be a fun past-time or activity for when you have an open window in your schedule. Getting some exercise in keeps you energized for the rest of the day and make you feel accomplished, especially if you're trying to reach a certain goal. Nutritionists recommend that the average human should do some form of exercise for at least three to four days per week if they want to "stay fit." This can be done through cardio by running, using the elliptical, or cycling, as well as through weight training.

However, some people think that by staying fit, you have to constantly be at the gym grinding it out, with no rest days. I'm here to tell you that for me, this is not the case.

When I started working out more prominently, I made this mistake of always going to the gym without taking a day or two in between to let my body rest. And as a result, the next day at the gym, I would find that my muscles were sore from the day before, which would negatively affect my workout for that day. But in the end, I thought that not skipping my gym days would make me reach my goal faster. Spoiler alert: it didn't.

Taking rest days are actually really crucial for people that enjoy actively working out every week, because it allows your body and your muscles to heal from the day before when you were putting them to work on the treadmill or lifting weights. If you're constantly going to the gym and doing extreme workouts, you're immediately more prone to injuries in your muscles, and you also might not get in the most of what you want for that workout.

Rest days are also imperative for your mental health, because it allows you to have time to sit back and relax, and just breathe.

That might sound crazy, but it's actually true. On the days I'm not at the gym, I'm more focused on my relationships, work, and anything I enjoy doing in my free time. And ironically, separating a day between my workouts makes me more motivated for the next day when I know I need to go to the gym, because I know that the day before I took a nice day off

If you're worried about rest days affecting your routine or your body goals, let me reassure you. You can still reach your goal even if you take just one day off to let your body cool down and rest. One day of not going to the gym won't set you far behind from whatever it is you're trying to accomplish, and you can still technically accomplish whatever it is you want even when you're not sweating it out. Make a nice protein smoothie, do some yoga while watching your favorite Netflix show, or even take a bubble bath.

It's always good to get a little bit of fitness into your schedule. If going to the gym seven days a week makes you happy, then don't let my opinion stop you from doing that. But at the end of the day, the most important thing you should focus on is your mental health, which is what rest days are for.

Taking a few days off to let yourself rest won't break you or make you any weaker. Because in the end, it will actually make you stronger.