Workout was a bust

TooFitToQuit

Well, that "workout" was a bust! 15 minutes of cardio and 5 of weights was all my body could take today. I've been really pushing it hard for the past week (except for Tuesday since it was my rest day). So hard that I've in bed and dead asleep by 8:00 every single night. Even though today is not my official rest day, I decided it was best to go home and stretch and get back at it tomorrow. Do you think this was a good/bad idea? Any alternatives?

Dabbles

You have to listen to your body. In a lot of aspects it knows best. Give it another day tomorrow if your still feeling worn out.

nokittyno

I think so. Some may interject and say, "Man up! Push through it" but unbeknownst to our brains, our bodies sure know a hell of alot better than we do. If we're tired, our body will say, "WOAH THERE, YOU AREN'T GOING TO LIFT *THAT* NOW, ARE YOU?" lol.

I know there have been days where I fail BECAUSE of mentality, not my bodies capability. BUT I also have times where my minds roaring but my bodies just - not fuelled for it. So what do I do? I say, "Today is my day off, tomorrow hit it hard". I think pushing yourself and working out half-assed benefits no one. It will only detour you from more workouts, and stall your growth.

One day won't kill you, I think your body is telling you something. As long as you don't compensate by eating everything off the McD's menu, I think your next workout will be fine. MHO anyway.

srp2011

I think you did the right thing - your body is trying to tell you something. I wonder if you are pushing yourself too hard on the other days? Overtraining can backfire and actually reduce your performance level.

juliapurpletoes

Yeah - if you are feeling really worn out, it is some sorta signal....exercising while fatigued doesn't increase your fitness, it takes it down lower. So rest up till you feel energetic and then put your all into it.

:flowerforyou:

Egger29

I just answered this on another post so I'll repeat myself here again.

REST is the most neglected and even ignored part of any fitness plan. If your plan doesn't have ample rest between sessions, you're really not going to make any progress. "Tuesday was my rest day" doesn't count as a plan.

When you workout, you're placing stress upon your muscle fibres and cells which needs to be repaired. Your body can only repair itself when you're giving yourself the time to rest.

Sounds to me like you're over training big time.

When it comes to exercise, while regular is good, that doesn't mean more is better.

As my own coach says...."If you take 2 tylenol when you have a headache....does that mean it'll be better for you to take 10 for faster results?" Not at all.

I've had numerous clients get twice the results with half the number of workouts. How? They workout hard, and then give themselves time to recover in between.

Need another reference? The programs in New Rules of Lifting (Men or Women) are designed where you take and entire week off every few months. Let yourself recover and come back stronger.

Case in point, I was training pretty hard before coming down with bronchitis a couple months ago. For two weeks, I wasn't able to do much of anything. But in that time, my lean mass increased by 3% while my overall body fat dropped.

Why? It's simple. I rested and gave my body the change to heal.

Once I was back in the gym, my weights and reps had all increased on their own.