Some days it pays to take it easy. "If you have other stressors going on in your life, you don't need to be killing yourself through exercise," says San Diego-based strength and conditioning coach Pete McCall. However, if you're chasing a goal — whether weight loss, greater strength or your first marathon — you need to keep challenging yourself in order to make progress.
Slacking off too long at the gym doesn't give your body the necessary stimulus it needs to adapt to be able to lift more weight, run farther and faster or burn fat more efficiently, says Albert Matheny, RD, co-founder of SoHo Strength Lab and adviser to Promix Nutrition. So here are the top five signs that you could be doing more during your workouts.