Go hard or go home?

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What do you think?

Yeah sure a nice hard workout feels great, you get your sweat on and the endorphins rushing through your body feels AMAZING! But do you have to nearly spew after each session for it to count?

No, no and more noooo! And I think this is where we all go wrong.

Our bodies are amazing things and we have to learn how to listen and feel more and focus on what we really need to move forward, rather than just smashing them because that’s the only way to get a good workout.  And I guess what most people don’t realise is that exercise is actually a stress and too much stress can sometimes just lead us to injury if we overdo it.

You do not have to go so hard every time you do a workout. Sure HIIT workouts are designed to be short, sharp and sweaty but too much of this type of training can actually cause inflammation and place too much stress on your nervous system. You can still get a good burn from simply moving your body and strengthening your muscles, finding that balance between intensity and recovery.

Your workout is meant to build strength and help you move and perform better and well as look and feel at your best. It’s not just about how hard you push and sweat to totally ruin yourself. I think much of the problem stems from the rise in popularity of high-intensity workouts and CrossFit, so we have now grown to think it is necessary to be smashed every time we workout or and that whole mentality of go hard or go home was born. However, in fact, the opposite is actually true.

STRESS + RECOVERY = ADAPTATION

Stress being the workout its self and the training intensity, volume and frequency.

Recovery is looking at your nutrition, sleep and aerobic base.

And the adaptation is the two put together, which is your bodies physiological response to this “stress” training and recovery.

When you do new exercises or load your body in a different way, your body reacts by increasing its ability to cope with that new load. Think about our lives and how much mental stress we all carry around with us. Then on top of that, we smash out a really hardcore workout every day, no wonder our poor bodies are crying out for some rest and recovery.

So how much do you sleep at night and what do you fuel your body with? My guess is late nights and broken or not enough sleep and processed quick meals maybe 20-50% of the time. And we wonder why at the end of the week we are totally exhausted and just generally not feeling great reaching for a glass of vino!

So what I recommend is start from the inside first. Look at how much sleep and stress you have in your life as well as what you are fueling your body with before you even think about smashing it out in the gym.

Once you are ready, find a great personal trainer who can work you hard but also understands that stress + recovery = adaptation and that can actually help you work on building strength, better posture and lifting your butt as well as making you feel energised and full of life not just exhausted by the end of the week.

I just happen to know one, so shout out if you’re looking 🙂

Kula Health

Bridgette Carter

Bridgette is a Women’s Health & Fitness Coach who is passionate about coaching women to be the best version of themselves. Bridgette has Fitness Programs to help you exceed your health and fitness goals. Simply drop us an email to find out how we can help you.