This week has been full-on, both mentally and physically. Physically, I had four intense weight and cardio sessions from Monday through Thursday. This is in addition to the physically demanding face-to-face personal training component to my responsibilities. Plus, I the workload has been HUGE this week – which is a really good thing because that means that I’m helping plenty of people.
Today I actually feel quite drained. Whilst I did want to go in for a legs session, I have decided not to. What I’ve learnt over the years is that you do need to listen to your body and be able to identify when you “need” a rest. Well, today I needed a rest.
It all comes down to recovery. This is a concept that not too many people naturally appreciate, particularly when it comes to muscle gain, fitness or weight loss. The notion of “more is better” can be extremely counter-productive, because our bodies need time to recover from the physical stress of exercise.
At the end of the day, if you continue to hammer your body, it will shut-down. Initially you may feel fatigued or moody, but then you could become sick with a minor illness. Injuries are far more prevalent when you don’t allow your body to recover. At a more extreme level, you could actually become quite ill and be hospitalised (I’ve seen it happen).
Here’s an insighful article on recovery that we had published some time ago: Recovery 101: Creating the Ultimate Physique
Unfortunately I’ll be away this weekend so I’m not going to get a change to train legs (ideally I would love to train them tomorrow). So, Monday it is! That will give me ample time to rest up and hit it hard next week.
Have a great weekend!
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