One health and wellness habit I still struggle with is rest and knowing when to call it. This could be during a workout, running my business, or doing chores around the house. Once I get started on a project, I feel like I need to keep going until it’s finished. The type A Monica Gellar in me kicks into high gear. This is what my husband calls the Girl Boss mindset. Other times, the somewhat lazy Rachel Green in me kicks in and I just want to sit and read a magazine. This is what he calls the You Boss mindset.
When I get into the Girl Boss mindset, my stubbornness kicks in and I will keep going until I literally can’t go any more. On one hand, this is a great way to be productive and get projects done. On the other hand, it’s an easy way to burn out and compromise my health and productivity. When I tap into my intuition of knowing when it’s time to call it, I’ve found that I’m more productive in the long run. It’s shifting the focus onto YOU and what’s best for you in the moment rather than doing the activity at hand. I experienced this on our vacation in the mountains last week.
The weekend before we left I got a mild cold virus. I rested on Saturday and Sunday and by Monday I was feeling better. Later that week I developed a cough which, of course, I was not happy about. When I get a cough it tends to linger even when I’m feeling better. It’s more of an annoyance than a concern. Part of our week in the mountains was a two night backpacking trip in the backcountry. My instincts were telling me it probably wasn’t the best idea to hike up a mountain at high altitude, but I did it anyway.
The coughing fits started not long after we got on the trail. The higher up in elevation we climbed and the more I exerted myself, the more frequent and intense my coughing fits became. I knew it would be best if I turned around and went back to town but my stubbornness kicked in and I didn’t want to give up yet. I love a good physical challenge to push my limits.
My friends and husband offered to turn back with me and I eventually gave into my instincts and agreed to turn around. To be honest, I felt a sense of relief once I made the decision and started hiking back down the mountain. It was not in the cards for me that day and I was okay with that.
Rest and recovery is an important part of a workout routine, especially when you’re not feeling 100%. An illness, injury, or random pain is feedback. It’s your body’s way of telling you to slow down and take a break. During a strength training routine, either with weights or your own bodyweight, your muscles get micro tears in them. The damage done to your muscles needs to be repaired and your body will go to work to heal the muscles to help them grow when you give it time to rest and recover.
These three steps will help you tap into your intuition so you’ll know when to scale back your workout or turn it up a notch or two.
Step 1 - Check Your Ego at the Door
Your ego can get in the way of success in any area of your life, especially strength training. It can convince you that you need to go hard with every workout to make progress or keep you safely in your comfort zone to avoid failure. Your ego wants to protect you, but not in a way that will help you get the results you want.
One of our mottos at a corporate group fitness class I teach is “Don’t be a hero.” The reason we have this motto is to encourage everyone in the group to challenge themselves physically and mentally just enough to where they’re pushing their comfort zone to make progress and stay safe at the same time. It’s not about lifting the heaviest weight or competing with others. It’s about being the best you you can be in the moment taking into account how you feel that day. Some days your energy levels are high and other days they’re low. Your sleep the night before, where you are in your menstrual cycle, whether or not you ate enough, or if you’re dehydrated are all factors that can affect your workouts. Take everything into account and don’t let your ego get in the way.
Step 2 - Follow Your Intuition
If you don’t know how to tune into your intuition, let’s talk. This is a skill that many of my clients have not yet mastered when they start working with me. It’s an important skill to master so you can learn how to make fitness and nutrition choices that help you build lean muscle mass.
As a board certified health and wellness coach, I’m trained to ask my clients questions that help them get to know themselves and figure out what they actually want to get out of their workouts. When you know the exact results you want, it’s way easier to choose a protein packed meal with real meat, seafood or eggs over a protein bar filled with ingredients that your body doesn’t thrive on.
It’s easier to say no to an intense workout when your body is telling you take it easy. Aligning your actions with the results you want to get is helping you tap into your intuition to know when it’s time to go hard and power through to stretch your comfort zone.
Step 3 - Have Fun
There are enough serious things in life to deal with—fitness doesn’t need to be one of them. Your workouts should be somewhat enjoyable. They don’t have to always be super exciting but they should be exciting enough to where you look forward to them.
Some of my clients love intense cardio workouts (i.e. high intensity interval training) while others prefer low-level cardio such as walking, hiking, or biking. I even have some clients who enroll in personal training sessions with me who don’t get excited about strength training but learn to enjoy it because we make it fun for them.
The common denominator for success with all my clients is consistency. Every single one of them is on their own unique strength training progression program and the ones who experience the most success are consistent. They show up every week (with the exception of vacation, illness, or injury) because we’ve found a way together to make it fun for them.
Habit creation is hard. It sounds simple but it’s not always easy. This is why making your workout routine fun will help you gain lean muscle mass and get to a weight that’s healthy for you.
As I was hiking up the mountain doing my best to control my coughing fits, I had to check my ego and tap into my intuition about whether or not to keep going. The more I talked it out in my head, the more I realized it was best to turn around. My ego kept telling me my friends and husband were going to be disappointed and upset if we didn’t make it the lakes. Once I took a step back and trusted that when they all three genuinely told me they were willing and happy to turn around, I told my ego to hit the road. I followed my intuition and with tears in my eyes I decided that turning around was the right choice at the time.
We went on to have a really fun time camping at a campsite in town, sitting by the lakes, and enjoying a campfire which was not allowed our original campsite destination. While it didn’t turn out as planned, I was able to rest and give my body the opportunity to heal the rest of the week while having fun.
Now that we’re back home, I feel so much better and ready to get back into my normal strength routine. I feel refreshed and energized which I knew would happen.
Want to discover how you can tap into your intuition and build a stronger body? Go here to book a free discovery call with me.
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