Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Hitting A Cement Wall.

Wouldn't you just love to live here?! I took this on my way to class yesterday and "blahh" pretty much sums it up.  Why is it always overcast during the cold months? All I wanted to do was eat banana pancakes, soup and grilled cheese and be wrapped in a fleece blanket with my dinosaur slippers. I didn't do any of those things :(

I did get to wear my new shoes though!

I bought them for myself as an early Christmas present (ssshh!!) and they came in the mail yesterday. I haven't taken them off since, they are so comfortable.  I know they're not the best shoes for lifting, but I couldn't resist.

..But even new shoe excitement couldn't get me going yesterday morning.  I woke up exhausted and sore.  I'm usually fully pepped and ready to go 15 minutes after getting up, but my pep never kicked in. I dragged myself to the gym for an upper body workout before class regardless because once I start moving around I usually feel better. Then I feel 3,000 times better when I'm done. Yesterday...didn't happen. 

I actually sat on the weight bench and considered going back home or just walking on the treadmill instead. I couldn't lift all the weight I normally do and I didn't even make it through my whole routine because I dragged so much ass and didn't have time to finish.  It was rough. I pushed through and was glad to get back home to have this:

You my go hard, but you aren't hard until you drink pink protein shakes out of a Cinderella glass :)
So, my plan for today was to just take it easy. I guess I just needed an extra day from all I did on Sunday and then Monday's lower body stuff. I gotta let my body catch up!
For dinner last night, after realizing there was nothing in the house for dinner, I improvised and threw together a mini turkey taco meatloaf/burger/slab of meat, ha ha.

Okay, so it looks like one of those fake vomit toys, but I promise it was juicy and delicious! I had it with spinach, red peppers, green beans and a mashed sweet tater.

I made these on Monday. They're sweet potato balls (sweet potato, black beans and salsa mashed up and rolled in ground flaxseed). I thought they were delicous, but Steveo, my taste tester said they were bland =\ Oh well, more for me! 
So what should you do when you bonk out of your work-out?!
  • Consider deloading or an active recovery week. Deloading is when you take a week and lower the intensity and length of your sessions after working out hard for 4-5 weeks consecutively (the more advanced of a lifter you are, the more often you should deload).  This helps your muscles and nervous system to recover and prepares you for your next set of sessions. I'm considering doing this but using bodyweight instead of lower weights. There are different ways to go about doing this:
    • Do your same routine, but with lower weights or keep the same weights but do less reps.
    • Spend the week improving and perfecting your form and breathing, using lower weights.
    • Train muscle groups that you don't usually work.
    • Do bodyweight exercises: push-ups, squats, lunges, dips, etc.
    •  Take the week off! Either completely or find some other form of light exercise, such as walking, to keep yourself active. 
  • Always make sure you are getting enough sleep, eating right and eating enough.
Deloading not only helps your muscles recover, but also your joints, ligaments and tendons, which in turn prevents injuries. Not only do you get a physical break but you'll also get a nice mental break and time to relax.  You'll also be mentally prepared and extra motivated to hit it hard once your rest week is over :)
Have fun with it!

P.S. I got these today: (light covers)
to put on this...
I love new jeep goodies :)

3 comments:

  1. I used to never realize how important rest was, but now I love my rest days/weeks!

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  2. i love your blog!!! I am about to add in a recovery week- i hear it works WONDERS for the muscles!

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  3. I just discovered your blog and I love it!!! I noticed you deleted your wordpress and was wondering where I could get updates from you! Like Instagram? Your posts are so helpful!!

    ReplyDelete