Hello! I hope you’re all doing well. I’m reallllly enjoying having some time off- it’s amazing to be able to go to the gym during the day and have it be empty, as well as run errands without traffic or masses of people. I could get used to this 😉
Remember how I briefly talked about how I got hung up with focusing on the quantity of workouts over the quality of them? Well, today I wanted to expand upon that a little. I remember Athena talking about going for the quality of a workout over the quantity of a workout in a post she wrote a while ago, and while I agreed with what she said about preferring to have 4 really solid and strong workouts versus 6 “meh” workouts, I found myself ignoring that last week.
I hate to admit it, but sometimes I get too wrapped up and focused on getting in “X” amount of workouts per week rather than looking at how hard/intense/strong each particular workout is and minding my body if I get up and it feels too sore to workout. With the amount I workout (often 1-2 hours per day), taking 2 rest days a week should be a priority, right? Or, at least having one of those “rest” days be something low-impact like yoga or pilates or something along those lines.
Stupidly, though, when I know there are days where I likely won’t have time to workout (or, rather, want to MAKE the time to workout), I often force a workout into a day where I usually rest. Since I teach a double on Thursdays and often have a long workout on Wednesdays, by the time Friday morning rolls around, I’m generally very physically tired and sored so it’s a perfect day to rest. Last Friday, though, I tried to force a workout. Sometimes if I workout in the afternoon, I can swing it and be fine since I can rest in the morning and see how I feel, but last Friday had to be a 7am workout, which was just too early. I woke up sore and should have pressed snooze or gotten up and foam rolled instead of trying to force a half-assed workout.
However, even though I got frustrated with myself for having chosen the quantity of workouts over the quality of workouts (my workouts last week were killer besides Friday!), it was a good lesson and a great reminder for me to take my own advice and focus on listening to my body and knowing when enough is enough and too much is too much. Rest days really are so important and the body gains so much more from a solid rest day than it does from a forced workout on a day that your body is giving you blatant signs that it is tired, sore and over-worked.
So, with that said, I hope that the next time I wake up for a workout and feel tired, I flash back to this post and my workout last Friday and choose sleep, foam rolling or regular ol’ rest instead of pushing my body to a limit it doesn’t want to reach.
Questions for you: Do you choose quality over quantity of workouts or do you focus on getting in “X” amount of workouts in per week regardless of how you feel?
And, for fun (and since I promised)- if you’re looking for a quickie workout today, try this! Remember to warm up and cool down as necessary. While the focus is on completing as many rounds as possible (AMRAP), please remember that good form takes precedence over speed!
Burpees to Bubbly 
The workout looks awesome!!!
I am really bad about going for quantity – even today – I was awake most of the night but I still wanted to workout out so I just walked 8 miles in 2 hours with an incline – in my mind it was better than skipping it altogether.
Thanks, kim! I am the same way- it’s really hard to get out of that mentality! I’m glad you just walked instead of pushing yourself to run.
Good for you to recognize doing too much, my friend! I don’t know what changed in me, but this year I have been much better about my rest days… including taking some that don’t include active rest… and being more than okay with it. I am seeing results from not over-exercising and giving my body the proper time it needs to recover. It’s a big mental shift, but it’s worth it! Now I make sure to get those two rest days in… every week!
Glad you are enjoying your time off. 🙂
I’ve noticed that change in you and wish some of it would wear off on me 🙂 For me, it’s not always about the physical part of working out, but more the mental part… and that shift is really hard!! My goal this summer is to take 2 rest days every week… I think my body would benefit from it greatly!
Hi Nick, I thought your advice about quality over quantity post was so well done! I am guilty of worrying about how many times a week I do some type of workout(not that ANY of my workouts are to the extent of yours!!), but you made such a good point. I didn’t do any type of workout on Sunday(except to get ready for and host a gathering), and I felt great on Monday. Mom
I think a lot of people are guilty of that, mom, regardless of how intense each personal persons workout is. Rest days do wonders for how you feel the next day and you can usually push yourself harder when you’re rested!
Man this is ME to a tee! Last week I was studying for a big certification exam and studying took over my gym time. I was more focused on going to the gym and being mad about missing the gym then actually focusing on studying. It took a few good gal pals to say ‘don’t stress, you’ll get back to your normal workouts next week’ for me to calm down and just let some weeks be more intense but fewer works then normal! Some days your workouts are even better the day AFTER that rest day!! Great post!
I’m glad you could relate, Fiona! It’s so hard to realize that we won’t lose all of our gains if we don’t workout as hard or as much for a week or two, which I think is my biggest struggle. And I think it’s even harder to realize how good rest really is for us, and how it allows us to be stronger in our next workout. I hope your exam went well!!