There’s this funny idea in a lot of the exercise/training industry that we can always improve. Your trainer or coach might have talked about this.
Ideas such as “1% better each day,” “compounding improvements” etc etc.
If we’re honest, if you are in a build phase of a new project or business, you, or someone close to you were unwell, you had a baby, you moved overseas… (insert any number of emotionally significant life events), your capacity to “show up” and train is limited.
In the context of life, these kinds of events aren’t that rare… When they come, you simply aren’t going to have the energetic capital for high output training.
Personally, I prioritise metabolic energy and health over exercise (movement is an “ally”), which means that when these physiological loads “spike,” exercise or training takes a big step down, quickly.
Staying active and incorporating regular movement is important, but the intent is energy cultivation, not expenditure.
OK, so the event passes – how do we “get back into it” in an intelligent way?
Here are a couple of ideas:
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Go slowly. Even slower. It will take some time. Talk to your coach before your class and set up your own progression if need be – often, the industry standard is too fast.
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Frequency first. Hold back on “volume” and “intensity” for 4-6 weeks at least. Work on frequency, movement patterns, routine, habit, getting back into it..
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Focus on controlled movements – save the heavy olympic lifts and sprinting for later.
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Dial your food accordingly. Post training, pre training – having enough of the right fuel in there to help down-regulate the stress of training is important. If you are training first thing in the morning, wake up earlier, get light and food exposure before you show up at the gym.
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Address the whole body – not just the spine, hips and main movements that look good – work the wrists, elbows, shoulders, ankles etc. The whole body needs to regain range of motion. It may not feel like it, but often it’ll be pretty locked up from lack of movement and/or subconscious tension.
To see results, we need the long game. When the focus is the long game, it’s often helpful re-integrate the practice slowly and set the stage for a sustainable habit.
Energy cultivation and awareness is a key part of this sustainability.
If you’re starting out or getting back into training, check out my Pillars of Power eBook, there’s a ton of info in it on movement and energy production.
