13 Mar Where do you sit on a scale from 1 to 10?
Training is an integral part of a healthy life and being fit and active is something we all love to feel! Do you love to move? Maybe even if you find it a challenge to get yourself to the gym or motivate yourself to go for a run, once you get there or start the run, you usually feel heaps better for doing it!
Movement is essential to life but is it possible to do too much movement? Finding a balance can be challenging and learning to listen to your body is key in figuring out what works best for you. We’re all different, every one of us a unique and individual snowflake, so what might work really well for one person might be terrible for another.
For example, maybe you’re a runner and running 10km a day is totally normal for you and you feel amazing. You might even choose to go to a yoga class every evening to stretch out after your morning run each day. And this schedule may be perfect for you, your body and your fitness versus recovery balance. For someone else, that could leave them exhausted and unable to function by the end of the week.
High intensity training, like CrossFit, is amazing and highly effective for getting results in a reasonably short time frame – especially when paired with balanced and mindful nutrition, like we offer through The Chief Life – and so it is a methodology we highly recommend and love to do ourselves. It is possible to modify high intensity training to suit all levels of fitness and health, no matter how old, what gender and even the strength or cardio capacity of the person.
How intensely you choose to participate in any of these endeavours should be based on how you feel. There are a few lifestyle factors to consider when deciding how hard to work your body in training and movement, things like:
- How much sleep are you averaging each night?
- How much food are you getting in each day, and what is the quality and quantity like?
- Are you drinking enough water to stay hydrated?
- What stressors do you have in your life and how do you deal with them?
- Are you getting out in the sun for about 10 minutes a day to get vitamin D? (This is one of the most commonly deficient vitamins in Australia and other Western countries due to our sun protection strategies).
- How is your mindset? Are you a glass have full or half empty kinda person?
If you are feeling well rested, on point with your nutrition, drinking minimum 3L/day of water, below 5 on stress level for a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being most stressed), getting your daily vitamin D quota and you have a positive outlook on life – then you’re pretty good to go hard and push yourself, still concentrating on mechanics and technique to keep you safe in the process.
However, if you are falling down in any of the above 6 areas, take it easy – listen to your body. If you feel like you’ve been hit by a bus when you wake up for training, either go in and take it easy – go lighter and slower than normal to “just move” and get some blood flow happening, or take a rest day and go for a slow gentle walk, do a stretch class or just do nothing to give yourself a chance to recover.
Many of us type A personalities love to be challenged, we’re such high achievers! But it’s easy to push hard and do too much if you are this way inclined! My challenge to you is actually to see if you can choose to back off, to show you can rest when you need to rest. You’re not being a pussy because you’re taking time to catch up on sleep or allowing yourself time off, you’re actually showing how strong a character you have to be able to lead by example and treat yourself as you’d treat a friend or family member. If your child was struggling with doing too much, you’d let them have some down time! So, give yourself that same respect too.
If you’d like some help in the food department, you know where we are 🙂 click HERE for more info on our BUNDLE meal plan package.
