Taking a rest day isn’t falling behind. Muscles, brains and moods all rebuild while you’re off.

Recovery is where the gains from the work actually get installed. Muscles rebuild, memory settles and moods reset while nothing is happening, which makes a day off part of the training rather than an interruption to it. Pushing through everything produces somebody who trained more and improved less.

Schedule a proper rest day this week, on purpose, before you get forced into one. Do something undemanding rather than guiltily completing half a session. If taking it makes you anxious, write down what you expect to lose and then check that against what actually happens.