No Gym Weekend

Okay, so you're gasping in surprise or checking the header to see if this is really my blog.  This is, indeed, S&P: The Over-Training Edition.

I will slack on the food thing, but pretty much never with the gym.  I'm beginning to think that this might just be working against me.  All week I've been sore, fatigued, depressed, irritable, sleeping badly, etc.  Now, this could be caused by a few things. PMS comes quickly to mind, but that's over with now.  I have a depression disorder which I self-monitor rather than taking daily medication to control*.  So I could be starting to "circle the drain", as we say.  I will continue to monitor my symptoms very carefully, but I'm not convinced that this is heading in that direction.  The other thing that these are symptoms of is, of all things, over-training.

Over-training.  There's a part of me that just finds that idea completely ludicrous.  Over-training is for athletes not barely reformed couch-potatoes, like me.  The very thought of it in relation to myself  makes my inner Drill Sargent want to scream "Drop and give me fifty, maggot!"  But on the other hand...  I started from scratch fitness wise, and I've been going at it pretty hard these past couple of months.  Last night was a cardio night at the gym and I barely made thirty minutes on the elliptical.  Thirty minutes is nothing for me now.  That should be cake.  Oh, and never mind the Drill Sargent, I unleashed my Inner Bully last night to push me through the thirty minutes.  I felt like complete emotional crap by the time I let myself stop.  I totally crossed the line between motivation via self-caring and self-hate.  This is never good.

If they gave medals for the ability to develop rationalizations for bad behavior, I'd have a stack of gold ones which is what makes it so hard for me to get my head around this.  But, it's conceivable that my body just can't keep up with the demands I'm placing on it.  Progress doesn't take place during exercise, it takes place during recovery.  Doing more damage than the body can repair in the rest time you give it equals no progress in strength and fitness.  Worse, it leads to negative results.  This also might explain why my %BF on my Tan1ta seems to be stuck at 39% even though my weight reading is going down.

So, this weekend I am not going to work out.  I may do some work in the garden but not with exercise in mind.  I'll see how I feel on Monday.  Someday I will master this whole moderation thing.  Sooner, rather than later, would be a good thing.

*If you are currently taking medication to control depression or any other mood disorder, please do not stop taking it without the advice and approval of your medical or mental health care practitioner.  Self-monitoring doesn't work for every person or every type of mood disorder.  Please? Promise?

Comments

[Lee]

I think this is a very smart move on your part. You are right that recovery and rest time is absolutely a vital part of the whole equation. Without it, we only do more damange than good.

A good rule of thumb that I try to adhere to when I have a rigid workout schedule is to take one whole week off from intentional exercise every three months. That is taking into consideration that I get at least two rest days every week. Notice I said "intentional" exercise. Basically it's an active recovery week, not a lay-on-the-couch-and-do-nothing week. You can still be active and do such things as gardening, walking, recreational biking, recreational swimming, etc. The idea is to keep active but not go out with the specific goal to *WORKOUT*.

Enjoy your weekend of rest and recovery. You earned it.

[La]

Hi. Just started reading you a while ago. Not sure how I found your blog. Anyway, one thing you might consider (if you don't already have one) is using a heart rate monitor during exercise. You can also use it to measure your Morning Resting HR. This is important to know for two reasons: 1) As you MRHR goes down, it indicates that your fitness level is going up. 2) If your MRHR is more than 3-5 beats higher than normal (for you) it indicates that you might be overtrained or getting sick, in which case you should take the day off exercize. If you don't have a HR monitor, you can take your HR manually while still lying in bed (before getting up, but after your HR has come down from the shock of being woken up by your alarm clock).

I agree with Lee above - although I would say that you need an easy training week every 4-6 weeks and maybe the "off" week every 3 months. Good luck!

[Ang]

That whole moderation thing has always been the thing that I needed to work on the most. I can master couch potato and workout till your muscle don't lift you anymore but the in between? That is the tricky one. I think it is awesome that you are in tune enough to figure this out. That is awesome!

[Renee]

I too find the idea of a couch potato overtraining a bit ludicrous. I try to stay mindful of how hard I push myself and on the days I don't still get in some activity. I'm also learning to get a feel for my body and yesterday I learned the difference in how tired feels.

I'm pretty much doing what Lee said, I have a 3 month routine, then I'll take one full week off (still being active) and during the 3 month stint, if my body needs the rest day vs. me just wanting to slack off, I'll grant its' wish ;)

Enjoy your weekend off!

[BethK]

Thanks for the advice everybody. The mood swings have subsided and my body feels like it's healing. I'm going to take it easier (longer dog walks & yard clean-up now that most of the snow cover is gone) for the rest of the week. I'll start back on Friday since April Fool's Day seems like the right time for these things.