You know that feeling where your heart says "yes" but your mind says "no"?
Often we listen to our heart and try to persevere through whatever it is we are trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, in respect to physical health and fitness, sometimes listening to your heart is the worst thing you can do. In prior blog posts I have talked about the importance of training and nutrition but recovery is a topic which I have not touched upon yet. So, let's get a little cozy and relax.
Recovery can be split into two areas:
Resting
Sleeping
Resting
There are different forms of rest. There is active rest and inactive rest. An example of active rest would be walking. An example of inactive rest would be chilling in bed watching 13 Reasons Why Season 2 (not sponsored but seriously go watch it!). Everyone needs at least 1-2 rest days during the week and how you want to rest is completely up to you. I suggest a mix of inactive and active rest. I take 3 rest days during the week just because the intensity at which I train is high, and my body requires optimal rest time in between my training sessions. I usually have one day of active rest (go for a light jog, play low intensity sports etc) followed by two days of inactive rest. Your rest is contingent on your training schedule and intensity but nonetheless pick a day or two to relax, you’ve earned it!
Please DO NOT overtrain.
Over training is the worst thing you can do to your body for two main reasons:
Injuries. Overtraining leads to reduced strength and flexibility. You want to make sure you are feeling 100% at the gym. If you feel weak and your muscles are tight, do yourself a favor and take a chill pill. Don’t let a 10 second decision set you back for 10 weeks. I am speaking from personal experience as I have overtrained in the past and have experienced a few injuries (sprains, tendonitis, pulled muscles etc). Thankfully nothing major but these experiences have taught me that whilst the human body is remarkable, it is fragile so treat your body like a temple and look after it. If you feel weak or are tired, just rest, don’t force yourself because it is not worth the risk.
Hurts your gains. Your muscles need time to recover. The small microscopic tears in the muscle fibre need time to rebuild and grow. If you are constantly damaging the muscle over and over again, where will it get time to heal and grow? So do your muscles a favor and take another chill pill (K3G reference, if you know, you know).
Sleep
Sleeping is the most under-emphasized aspect of training in my opinion. Getting enough sleep on a nightly basis is crucial to muscle growth and performance the next day in the gym. If you are weight training you need 7-9 hours of sleep daily. Our muscles repair and grow while we sleep, which is why you need to make sure you give sufficient amount of time to the recovery process. If you are not getting 7 hours of sleep, you may have to sacrifice that late night movie or face timing with friends till 4 in the morning. I am not saying you have to stop everything and not have a social life. Just be cognizant of the fact that you want your hard work in the gym to pay off, so try and get plenty of sleep during the week to capitalize on the fruits of your labor.
Once again, do not over complicate your fitness journey. It is already hard enough, don’t make it harder for yourself. Try and control the things you can. You can control how you listen to your body and you can control what time you choose to sleep. Do right by your body, and your body will do right by you.
As Anjali always tells Rahul, "(Insert your name here), take a chill pill!"
I’m on vacation for my rest week, so there won’t be a blog out till the following week. Take it easy and enjoy the warm weather!
Take care of yourselves theELORE fam!
Hussain
Follow @huuusss_p & @_theelore
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