In order for you to reap the many unbelievable health perks of exercising on a regular basis such as weight loss, reduced joint pain and swelling, a healthier cardiovascular system, and lowered anxiety and depression, experts say that you should exercise on most days of the week.

But just because you want to live a happy and healthy life does not mean that you should keep on exercising no matter what. In some instances, exercising can do more harm than good. So in other words, it’s perfectly fine for you to skip working out for a day or two (or more!) in certain situations.

Definitely, it’s a terrible idea for you to skip exercising just because your favorite TV sitcom is airing, working out leaves you bored or you feel that you are not overweight — having a lame excuse should leave you feeling guilty!

The following are some of the most legit reasons for you to momentarily ditch exercise and take a break instead:

You Feel Sick

If there’s an ongoing infection, your immune system needs all the energy it can get in order to kill those disease-causing microbes and keep the problem from progressing or spreading.

Exercising demands a lot of your body’s available energy and engaging in it if you’re really sick will only divert your fuels away from the management of the infection. Instead of going to the gym, hop into bed and take all the rest that you can get for a much faster recovery.

You Believe You’re Injured

No pain, no gain — this is the mantra of most fitness buffs out there. However, experts beg to disagree — if your joints or muscles hurt, it’s very much possible for an injury to be in existence, and exercising can aggravate it.

Instead, what you need to do is to give your body a couple of days to bounce back completely from your previous exercise, especially it was a really intense one. Consider stepping foot inside the doctor’s office and not at the local gym in order for you to be sure.

You Have Nasty Sunburn

Sunburned areas of your body tend to feel warm to the touch and that’s no secret. It’s exactly for this reason why it is a good idea for you to momentarily ditch working out until such time that your sunburn has healed. Otherwise, you are risking overheating your body.

According to experts, exercising with terrible sunburn can easily lead to dehydration and a heatstroke, both f which can put you in danger. Instead of spending time to exercising, devote your energy to resting, hydrating and regularly applying skin emollients in order to speed up the healing process.

You Have a Hangover

Most people have the opportunity to hit the gym only on weekends. But if the night before you partied really hard and you woke up the next day with a massive hangover, it’s a terrible idea for you to engage in exercise.

There are a couple of reasons why exercise and a nasty hangover do not mix. First, working out can make a hangover-induced headache worse by a hundred times. Second, having a hangover can affect your motor skills negatively, thus increasing your risk of ending up injured.

You are Deprived of Sleep

Everyone knows that exercising on a regular basis is one of the best all-natural remedies for insomnia. Unfortunately, working out if you are totally sleep deprived can do more harm than good, experts confirm. This is especially true if you worked out heavily the day before.

If you exercise without getting enough shut-eye the same night, then you may not reap the benefits of exercising the following day — chances are you will quit even before you have completed your routine or you are likely to fail carrying out your routine properly. What’s more, it can put you at risk of incurring an injury.