Training Hard VS. Training Smart

For some people, finding the motivation to get to the gym can be incredibly difficult. Others, I have found, seem to have the opposite problem. Perhaps you've found that you feel guilty if you don't workout one day. Maybe you constantly feel sore, but you don't want to stunt your progress.

Last week, in one of my classes, one of the members came up to me and said "I'm feeling really out of it today; I'm not sure why!" I looked and her and asked, "What did you do before this?" She responded "Well, I took spin class for an hour and then went for a swim." I had a pretty good idea of why she was feeling tired! She went on, "Well yesterday, I was able to run for two hours and then swim without a problem!

This woman was tough, but maybe to the point of stupidity. She was a former Iron Man competitor, and never gave herself time to recover. She was wearing herself down day after day, thinking she was doing something positive for her body, when her body desperately wanted some rest.

After class, I puller her a side and tried to explain to her the value of rest. I told her that without allowing the Central Nervous System and her muscles the chance to recover, she was doing her body a disservice. Unfortunately, my explanation with her seemed to go over her head.

More isn't always more!

Exercise places stress not only on the muscles,
but also on the Central Nervous system.

Trust me, I've been there. Usually on my rest days, I just want to go to the gym and lift. I've lifted when I should've taken a day away from the gym. Now, I've decided to try listening to my body and taking days off as I need them.

Exercise places a tremendous stress on the body. The muscles need to rebuild themselves and adapt. If we keep wearing them down without allowing them to repair, depriving ourselves of sleep, and then getting up and doing it all over again, over time, your body will send you to a screeching halt.

If you feel constantly sore, exhausted, and your results are plateauing, perhaps you need to have a little more down time!

I know you have goals. Whether you want to compete in your first figure competition or lose 10 pounds for your wedding, you have to be patient. You will see results if you put in the work. If your body needs some rest, though, there's no need to feel guilty for obliging. You're not going to be able to make progress if you're injured! It's one thing to push yourself through a grueling workout, but it's another when
you have to do that day after day. If you still want to be active, go for a hike or try a yoga class. Chill.

Think about it this way: if you've had some time to recover, you can push yourself even harder the next day, because you'll have more energy during your workout!

Train hard and train smart.