Recently I have experienced the agony of finally feeling as if I were on track with my workouts, feeling fit with more energy, and actually looking forward to waking up before work to get my sweat on, only to fall a couple steps off the track because of an injury. And the worst part about it is I don't know what I did wrong! I have unexplainable pain that doesn't hurt bad enough for me to feel justified in skipping my workouts, but yet I feel if I kept going it could get worse and affect me for life.
So what do I do? Do I wake up all amped up to go on my morning run and just skip it? Do I go through my day with pent up energy because I never got the chance to burn it off? Do I feel like a wuss because a little bit of pain is giving me the excuse to blow of the gym, multiple days in a row? The answer that I have come up with, is yes.
Yes, my body may feel more flabby for a week or more. Yes, I don't quite feel like myself if I don't work out. Yes, I feel as if I'm letting myself down if I don't get to that gym like I promised. But, my answer is still yes.
Injuries are like weeds in a beautiful, healthy garden and if you don't nip them in the bud, they can grow to strangle even the strongest roots. A little bit of pain could end up haunting you for years, when a couple of days of rest could have prevented the future frustration and pain. I've experimented a bit with my injuries, sometimes spraining an ankle and scolding my year younger self for walking on it too soon, and I've babied a little pain until it's gone away, no matter how much my health-addicted mind beat up my logical-thinking brain. The conclusion I've come to is it is always better to err on the side of caution and make sure an injury is not a big fat seed of poison ivy that will affect your otherwise healthy body for years to come.
Runners who experience knee pain but continue to run can run themselves right into surgery. Lifters who strain to push too much weight over their heads can give themselves a hernia! Any small pain could lead to greater, where a day or two of rest could be the exterminator. My advice: watch the foods that enter your mouth a little bit more carefully for a few days and elevate/ice your injured muscle every night for at least three days.
And besides, taking a break from your regularly scheduled programing doesn't mean you have to quit training completely! Cross train in a pool if impact was the culprit. Or skip the muscle group that hurts and use that time to really challenge yourself in a different type of workout, or class, or strategy. Or how about working on your flexibility? Passing on your regular workout could even bring you to a different level of your fitness that you never would have gotten to by sticking to your same old routine.
Bottom line: if your child complained of a cold on Monday, wouldn't you feel terrible sending them to school every day until it grew into the full blown flu by Friday? Treat your own body with the same care and kindness and it will grow into the beautiful, strong flower you want it to be.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Makings of a Good Workout Playlist
Creating a playlist of any kind is somewhat of a skill, whether you are trying to create flow to a party, cleaning your house, or a 10 mile run. Here are some helpful tips to creating a playlist that will get you through your toughest workouts, or calm you during a long stretching session.
*Know what your activity will be before you begin. Are you strength training for a half an hour? Are you doing cardio for a long or short amount of time, and are you doing intervals or a longer session at moderate intensity? Even the equipment you will use can play an important factor: elipse, track, bike? With the elipse or bike you can up the resistance to make each motion harder, so choosing a song with a slower beat is the perfect time to slow down your feet but turn up the resistance. Working in intervals like these will blast more calories by keeping your body guessing as to what's coming next, and music is a perfect motivator.
*Map out your workout for the playlist and how long you want your session to be. Maybe you need a jumpstart song to get you going right away, or maybe you want a slower song to get through your warm up and then kick it up a notch with a faster song. If you are planning to do intervals, choose songs with a faster tempo and place them after a song or two with a slower beat. If you know will be working on flexability about half way through your workout, choose a song you can sing along to in your head to distract yourself from any pain you may be feeling at that time. Then, make sure you have enough songs to get you through your whole workout so that you're not stuck with ten minutes left and no motivation music.
*Decide when you'll probably feel the most like quitting and put one of your favorite songs in that place. Maybe your goal is to run for a full hour, so at 50 minutes place a song with a fast beat, something that will pump you up and make you want to keep going! Maybe you know that squats will come towards the end of your workout and you need a little extra motivation to get you through those exercises. Once that song comes on, you'll want to continue your workout so that you can keep listening!
*Also remember that just because you may not like to listen to a song in the car home from work, doesn't mean it won't motivate you during your workouts. Songs with fast, strong beats can fill you with adrenaline so try out some different songs while your working out and see if they give you that burst of energy you need.
*Along the same lines, definately be willing to tweak your playlists after a trial workout or two. Sometimes you may find that a certain beat will make you want to slow down as opposed to speed up, or maybe a song you really like will actually bore you to tears during a workout. Be open to moving songs around, trying different combinations, or even continuously updating old playlists, keeping the songs that work and adding in new songs to spice it up a bit.
*Lastly, it's nice sometimes to have a song with a slower beat for your cool down, whether you're slowing down your cardio or stretching out after weights, the last song or two of your playlist should help your heart rate come back to normal and calm you down after a job well done.
*Know what your activity will be before you begin. Are you strength training for a half an hour? Are you doing cardio for a long or short amount of time, and are you doing intervals or a longer session at moderate intensity? Even the equipment you will use can play an important factor: elipse, track, bike? With the elipse or bike you can up the resistance to make each motion harder, so choosing a song with a slower beat is the perfect time to slow down your feet but turn up the resistance. Working in intervals like these will blast more calories by keeping your body guessing as to what's coming next, and music is a perfect motivator.
*Map out your workout for the playlist and how long you want your session to be. Maybe you need a jumpstart song to get you going right away, or maybe you want a slower song to get through your warm up and then kick it up a notch with a faster song. If you are planning to do intervals, choose songs with a faster tempo and place them after a song or two with a slower beat. If you know will be working on flexability about half way through your workout, choose a song you can sing along to in your head to distract yourself from any pain you may be feeling at that time. Then, make sure you have enough songs to get you through your whole workout so that you're not stuck with ten minutes left and no motivation music.
*Decide when you'll probably feel the most like quitting and put one of your favorite songs in that place. Maybe your goal is to run for a full hour, so at 50 minutes place a song with a fast beat, something that will pump you up and make you want to keep going! Maybe you know that squats will come towards the end of your workout and you need a little extra motivation to get you through those exercises. Once that song comes on, you'll want to continue your workout so that you can keep listening!
*Also remember that just because you may not like to listen to a song in the car home from work, doesn't mean it won't motivate you during your workouts. Songs with fast, strong beats can fill you with adrenaline so try out some different songs while your working out and see if they give you that burst of energy you need.
*Along the same lines, definately be willing to tweak your playlists after a trial workout or two. Sometimes you may find that a certain beat will make you want to slow down as opposed to speed up, or maybe a song you really like will actually bore you to tears during a workout. Be open to moving songs around, trying different combinations, or even continuously updating old playlists, keeping the songs that work and adding in new songs to spice it up a bit.
*Lastly, it's nice sometimes to have a song with a slower beat for your cool down, whether you're slowing down your cardio or stretching out after weights, the last song or two of your playlist should help your heart rate come back to normal and calm you down after a job well done.
How Often Should I Work Out?
I know a lot of people who fall into the trap of 'if I can't work out 5-6 times a week I may as well not even try.' I often times get down on myself if I miss a couple of workouts in a week and get the feeling that I've ruined the week and I should just give up.
But through my own experience, and watching those around me who workout on a regular basis, 5-6 times a week is simply not necessary to make a major difference.
A 24 year old was looking to shape up for her wedding and wanted to lose fat and gain muscle in the 9 months she had before displaying herself in a wedding dress before 300 people. She did two sessions of cardio and two sessions of weight training per week. By the time her wedding rolled around she was happy and comfortable with her body, and everyone commented on how great she looked in her wedding photos.
A 27 year old male I know wants to bulk up and put on pounds of muscle. He hits the gym 4 times a week for a half an hour to an hour, and has gained a noticeable amount of muscle with this schedule. He says it's important to take those 3 days off to allow his body recovery time and the chance to build the muscles he worked out while training.
One older woman I know has a goal of getting to the gym just three times a week. This way she can hit every major muscle group, and gets about a half an hour of cardio each session as a warm up. She is 57 and in better shape than most of my younger friends, including myself. She says all she needs is 3 days a week to maintain the muscles she has and to keep extra pounds off.
So if you're like me who feels guilty if you sleep in a day or two during the week, relax and realize that your body needs those off days just as much as the workouts themselves. Plus, you can still make a major difference in how you look and feel with just a couple of hard workouts per week!
But through my own experience, and watching those around me who workout on a regular basis, 5-6 times a week is simply not necessary to make a major difference.
A 24 year old was looking to shape up for her wedding and wanted to lose fat and gain muscle in the 9 months she had before displaying herself in a wedding dress before 300 people. She did two sessions of cardio and two sessions of weight training per week. By the time her wedding rolled around she was happy and comfortable with her body, and everyone commented on how great she looked in her wedding photos.
A 27 year old male I know wants to bulk up and put on pounds of muscle. He hits the gym 4 times a week for a half an hour to an hour, and has gained a noticeable amount of muscle with this schedule. He says it's important to take those 3 days off to allow his body recovery time and the chance to build the muscles he worked out while training.
One older woman I know has a goal of getting to the gym just three times a week. This way she can hit every major muscle group, and gets about a half an hour of cardio each session as a warm up. She is 57 and in better shape than most of my younger friends, including myself. She says all she needs is 3 days a week to maintain the muscles she has and to keep extra pounds off.
So if you're like me who feels guilty if you sleep in a day or two during the week, relax and realize that your body needs those off days just as much as the workouts themselves. Plus, you can still make a major difference in how you look and feel with just a couple of hard workouts per week!
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