Recovery

Last time I posted was February 7th. I was going to take a rest day the next day. I did not. I did, however, take a rest day the following day. I was smoked. I also decided to skip the judo class and relax. Thank goodness for rest days!


Even though I want to see results, I have come to the age where I understand my limitations. I'm not talking about simply being scared or too lazy to give it my all. I'm talking about reality. And the reality is, I'm middle aged. It never occurred to me that one day I would say, "I'm old, I have to rest," but now I am. For a while, that bothered me, like I was using my age as an excuse. Now I understand that my age has brought me just a small modicum of wisdom, and I am proud to announce my age and that I am freaking going to rest!!!


The saying, "Age is just a number" is synonymous to, "Money doesn't matter." Okay? Money doesn't matter unless you need it desperately to eat, bathe, sleep somewhere safe. Basic life necessities. So people who think that age is not a factor are either really young or delusional. 


I have a brother who is 50 years old and is uber-athletic. This guy has the body of a 25-year-old athlete. He can do anything physical well. But he is not typical. He has always been athletic. He has never been a big drinker, never smoked, and eats clean. Because he started taking care of himself at a young age, he can do what he does now at age 50. The answer is to START YOUNG. Start taking care of yourself when you are young. We are not indestructible and we don't last forever. 


I guess it goes back to the age and recovery thing. I want to stress that recovery and rest are great. Just because you push yourself to 100% every day does not mean you will see results. In order to see results you must allow the body and mind to recover. Even lifters and athletes don't always go all out in their training. Leaving it all at the gym simply means that you have nothing left for everything else in your life.


It is good to go to failure every once in a while. But every day?? If you drove your car like a race car everyday, how long do you think it would be before it broke down? Not long. The same goes with our bodies. Our bodies can be pushed, but they need rest, too. Over time, they break down. They become a little weaker. They need more maintenance. Some things lose elasticity and strength. We have to meet those needs in order to preserve our bodies and maintain our strength and flexibility.


I rest a lot more now. Sometimes it is active recovery, like a 1-mile jog (and I do mean a slow jog) instead of a workout. Sometimes, instead of working out, I hang out with my family and watch movies. It is okay to not work out all the time. My body will not forget how to do a dead lift. It will actually thank me for allowing it to simply be. Once I wrapped that concept around my brain, my ego let it be, too.