Recovery

Sunday, November 15 - Rest Day

Sometimes, we just need a day off. During this current period of my attempt to get into shape, I've been very careful to moderate my enthusiasm. Even so, I'm finding myself run down today. Part of this is realizing that every area of your life that stresses you out or drains you of energy takes away from your ability to keep working out hard - even if it's not physical activity. Pressures within the family or at work can have an effect on your ability to exercise. 

This is why it is important to not just take programmed days off, but sometimes to listen to your body and get the rest you need even when you have a workout planned. Rest is a part of progress, too. Your muscles and joints need time to recover from exercise. Besides physical rest, you also need to keep fueling your body with lots of good nutrition - fruits and veggies, proteins from various sources, and lots of water!

Have a beautiful day and God bless you!

Saturday, November 14 - Workout

Today I didn't do a full structured work out. Instead, I was just very active during the day with some exercise thrown in. I was doing a lot of laundry and my pull-up bar happens to be next to my laundry machines, so whenever I went down to switch a load, I did a few pull-ups and chin-ups. Over the course of the day, I probably did about fifteen or twenty.

In the afternoon, I went to the YMCA with my son. I wanted to focus on spending some time with him, so we did the Elliptical and walked and ran on the track a little. Nothing too intense, but I took a few minutes to do some more pull-ups - and I did 8 over three sets.

I can feel some soreness in my core and in my back from the pull-ups and chin-ups today. It was good to connect with my son as well.

Start Where You Are

"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." -Arthur Ashe

A couple years ago, I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and my meniscus. After surgery to repair the damage to my knee, I couldn't put any weight on it for a week. My leg quickly shrunk to half of its thickness due to muscle atrophy.

However, three days after surgery I started physical therapy. All I could do was squeeze my quads slightly to straighten my leg. It seemed like it would be forever before I could regain use of my leg much less do any of the activities I had enjoyed before - e.g. running and martial arts.

I just kept doing my exercises. Each week, the physical therapists increased the difficulty and added more exercises. Over the following months, I saw my leg slowly regain mobility and strength. Now I can run, row, squat, and do martial arts again!

No matter where you are physically, you can do something to improve yourself. I am not trying to downplay the physical challenges that some may have. However, I think a lot of people wait for the "right time" to get started with something that will benefit them - like exercise.

What can you do to get started today? Can't do a proper push-up? Try pushing off the wall and work your way to a full push-up from the ground. Can't run? Start by walking down the driveway and add a few feet each day. Don't have time? Do a few bodyweight squats or push-ups during commercials of your favorite television show. Just get started!

November 12, 2015 - Rest Day

I'm feeling good overall, but busy with work and a little tired from lack of proper sleep. It is a good day to recover from a few good workouts and looking forward to picking it up against tomorrow.

Training Differences between Novices and Experts

November 8, 2015 - Rest Day

Happy Sunday, friends! I have been reflecting on my general strategy for getting fit. It can be summed up fairly easily:

1. Set goals I feel I can reach in 1-3 months. When I hit a goal, I set a new one.
2. Practice and work on those goals fairly frequently - at least once a week or more. Try to improve in some way every time I work on a specific goal.
3. Practice other exercises and skills frequently enough to maintain those skills and for variety - at least once every three weeks or so or more. These exercises provide more variety as well as supporting the goals directly or indirectly.
4. Eat reasonably well. I'm keeping this simple as well - more fruits and vegetables, less fast food, eat enough to support exercise but not too much.
5. Get enough sleep. I am aiming for at least 7 hours a night.

This basic plan should help me to progress steadily for a while. However, there may come a point where I will begin to plateau or stagnate in my progress. This is natural and to be expected. There is a difference between the training for novices and beginners and the training of more advanced athletes. I've been watching a few videos and reading a lot over the years for this. Here are some key points.

1. Beginners and novices improve fast at the beginning because they are going from a low or no frequency to more frequency. Basically, a person (like myself) who hasn't worked out in a while or not often benefits greatly just because of increased frequency. Right now, my body is adapting because I am working out 4 or 5 days a week as opposed to 4 or 5 days a month - I know, embarrassing to admit, but it's the truth.
2. Beginners and novices do not need complicated programs for any type of training. Because their bodies are going from not training to some training, the strength or endurance gains are easy. For all types of training, performance improvements from refining and perfecting technique during this phase is also the greatest. For example, I am currently able to improve my deadlift and squat weight in part because I'm improving my form and technique from watching videos (both of myself and of expert or high level practicioners). So beginners just need to practice frequently, improve form and technique, and increase the resistance until they this doesn't work anymore.
3. As athletes progress, they will need to adapt their programs to account for their limiting weaknesses. Let's use a running example. Right now, to improve I mainly have to just get out there and run. Then the next time try to either run a little faster or a little further. I can repeat this for a while, but as I get more fit, my progress will slow for a few reasons that I will need to address in my training. For example, I may have technique flaws that prevent me from getting the most output for the energy I'm expending. It might also be something like flexibility or mobility imbalances that cause injury, therefore limiting my ability to train. It could be that I need to put more speedwork or sprints into my training to improve the anaerobic capacity of my body. The point is that I will need to adjust my program to make further gains. The same goes for strength training, martial arts, or any other athletic attribute I'm trying to improve.
4. As athletes become more advanced, their gains will come slower. This may be because of point number three, but also as the athlete approaches their genetic potential in an area, their progress will diminish. 

So consider your level of training when you are developing your game plan for training. If you are a beginner, keep it simple and strive for improvement in every workout. As you progress, you may need to change things to continue your progress. At that point, the help of a skilled coach or experienced training partners may be necessary to help point out your weaknesses and keep you accountable. As for me, my focuses are on consistency and constant improvement. When my progress starts to plateau, I'll have to make a plan to get to further levels of progress.

Train hard and smart. Remember to have some fun as well. God bless you!

Moderating Enthusiasm

November 4, 2015 - Recovery Day

Bryan Running!

Do you ever get so excited about something whether it be exercise or anything else that you go crazy doing the activity and learning about it...only to fizzle out after a few enthusiastic weeks or months? This has happened to me quite a few times.

For example, three years ago, I ran my first (and so far only) half marathon. I was invited by a friend to join her and I accepted. I went crazy, looking up training plans, changing my diet dramatically, I had two hour running sessions at times. I lost some weight. I ran the race and had a great time. Then after the race, I didn't run again for about six months.

What did I learn from this? First, I learned that there is a place between "all-out" and "nothing." I also learned that I need to proactively moderate my enthusiasm. Instead of spending all of my free time or neglecting my other responsibilities, I fit fitness into my week more sensibly. However, I make sure that I prioritize my business and family activities first. 

This blog and my current workout efforts are the result of this state of mind. Now, I don't want to discourage you to be enthusiastic about exercising. It's only that if you want to develop a consistent habit or activity level, you need to spread that enthusiasm out over a longer period of time. 

Hence, today is a rest day - I did 10 minutes of foam rolling and stretching. Partly because I have a long day at work and I want to conserve my energy, but also because I want to refresh my mind and my enthusiasm for my next workout. So try moderating your enthusiasm so that it lasts for the long haul!

God bless you and have a beautiful day.

Happy Halloween - Rest Day

October 31, 2015

Rest Day

Despite it being a rest day, I did a lot of house and yardwork, so got a lot of physical activity.

I haven't figured out if I would have specific rest days. My philosophy on this is that with my busy work and family schedule, rest days will end up happening. My goal is on days when I can get even 10 minutes of activity in, I will. Because I'm working towards specific goals, I can maximize the smallest amount of time by making progress towards those goals. I will write more on my general plans and strategy in coming posts.