Bad Days

You know those days when nothing goes your way and you feel like there must be someone out there trying to mug you off?

For some reason that happened to me yesterday. Things were snowballing at work and 5:30pm couldn't come quick enough. I felt knackered and proper down in the dumps.

I got to the gym and my mood didn't improve. After a hard and long test week last week (in which I got PBs in most things, may I add haha) my body is still recovering and the WOD yesterday showed that. I have never been in the position before, that half way through, I have nothing more to give. I was exhausted and my body was aching.

It made me realise that I need my sleep and I need my rest. Rest days are so important and even though you may be DYING to get to the gym, listen to your body. I did six sessions last week with only Sunday to recover and back on it on Monday. So no wonder my body was screaming at me to have a rest (with a brew and a biscuit).

It also made me acknowledge the fact that it’s OK to be tired and have rest days. If you're tired, listen to what your body is telling you and get some sleep and have a few days off. It’ll mean you’re be fresh to boss the next session and feel strong again.

After reading a really important article by www.bodybuilding.com, I have gained a wider knowledge about the importance of rest and the dangers of overtraining. The main points include:

1.      'It is rest that makes you stronger, because it is the rest that allows the muscles that you have broken down to heal and recover. Rest allows you to recover so you can be strong, and thereby handle the increased weight, number of sets and reps needed to gain further.' In order to make progress, you need to train hard but all that high intensity training takes its toll. If the body has not had the right amount of rest, then performance can decline and increase the risk of injury.
2.     'The effects from overtraining may not only by physiological.' It is (thankfully) becoming more acceptable to talk about and understand your mental health. That's why, not only do you need to be clued up on the physiological impact of skipping rest days but also the psychological effects. Yesterday, I was in a terrible mood because I was so tired. Even a gym session couldn't cheer me up because I couldn’t perform to the best of my ability. Learn to understand your mood and what could be impacting it. Is it stress, tiredness, hormones? When you know what's effecting your mentality, the easier it is to try and overcome the bad mood when it hits.
3.     'Having more sleep can increase growth hormone levels and reduce cortisol levels.' My biggest problem is that the amount of sleep I have differs every night, with me sleeping for between five and six hours during the week and between eight and nine hours at the weekends. Setting a routine and more importantly, sticking to it can improve performance. Getting a good eight hours of REM sleep can aid organ, bones and tissue restoration, as well as replenishing immune cells. Maintaining the same sleep cycle isn't always easy, however simple techniques such as going to bed at the same time or getting up at the same time are baby steps to achieving a body clock routine.

Listen to your body and begin to realise when you are fatigued. Get some good sleep and notice your performance improve. It takes time to get used to a sleeping/rest routine but step-by-step, you'll begin to settle into it and you won’t look back.

Happy resting!

Bodybuilding.com, 'Rest And Overtraining: What Does This Mean To Bodybuilders?', 2018 https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/rest-and-overtraining-what-does-this-mean-to-bodybuilders.html 

Bodybuilding.com, 'The Importance of Sleep', 2018 https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-importance-of-sleep.html