Exercise is important. Use it or lose it. Yet, I believe that it's ok, if not a healthy thing, to take a break from working out once in a while. It gives our joints a rest. For me, that's hunting season. After all, we still do some walking, and we aren't gonna fall apart in 2 months. My fitness year starts in Mid December cuz in PA, our season closes mid-December, and that's when I start up my running program after some time off. It's slow at first, but it comes back. I run outside a lot in winter a lot, training a few annual races, in the 5k, 5mi, 10k range. A race keeps me motivated. It's worth the money, and there's always a shirt and some beers and laughs after the race with friends. I am at an age now where I can't complete with my younger self, and it's hard to accept that my sub 9 min miles today feel like 8s from 10 yrs ago, but I do what I can. My annual running goal is 300mi. I have done it many times and have been close many times. Unfortunately, last year, I was on track, but I suffered a grade 2 hamstring pull in early June and couldn't run for 6 months. My climbing was really not affected, though: I just used my left leg only for a while. For strength, I have 3 workouts that I rotate when i can: upper body push, upper body pull, legs / lower back. I dropped the gym membership a few yrs ago and do them in my basement any time I can squeeze em in. I try to get all 3 workouts in every week but am only successful half the time... and so the cycle might be 10 or 14 days instead of 7, but we do what we can. Cheers
JrbTreeClimbing.com, affiliated with RockNArbor.com