Can taking a break from working out make you more tired?
In quarantine I started a workout routine that involved working out about 5 times a week for 30-45 mins. Then when I went back to work at a bakery (where I stand for 6-8 hours and am constantly running around and cleaning and lifting things) I continued this workout schedule on top of that. And I would make sure to get at least 1 hour of walking in a day.
Then, in late July, after about 4 months of this routine, I went on a socially distanced vacation that involved a lot of driving and working out wasn’t always an option. I dropped my routine, and while I went on a few long hikes, for the most part a 30 minute to 1 hour walk was all I could get in (it was a lakehouse vacation and we weren’t situated in a place that was good for walking). I stopped my workout routine and vegged out. I started sleeping in in a way that I hadn’t been able to before, and at first I thought it was restorative. Maybe my body was getting the rest it really needed. But now, it’s been about a month of no workouts and just walking, and I still can’t get out of bed in the morning at a decent hour to save my life. I fall back asleep after every alarm and have vivid dreams in those 20 minute intervals. When I wake up it feels like I’m getting out of a coma and have barely any energy to do anything for hours.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?? Has this ever happened to you? Is not working out making me more tired, or is my body maybe still playing catch up? I go back to school next week and want to be able to get back into a workout routine of some sort and wake up at normal hours without feeling like I’m coming back from the dead. For context, I’m 24 and generally healthy and not pregnant.

Achieve your health goals from period to parenting.