Lately I’ve been noticing this common theme amongst exercisers. Many of them are pushing themselves to the point of exhaustion, extreme discomfort, and even nausea. I always tell people to train smarter, not harder. You don’t need to push yourself so hard you almost feel like throwing up. You also don’t need to be doing high intensity workouts all the time to get results. Our bodies thrive on a combination of moderate to high intensity workouts with enough fuel and rest to recover.
Here are some things to consider before your next activity or workout:
- What is the purpose of this activity or exercise? Why are you doing this particular exercise? Is it specific to your goals?
- Do you enjoy this activity or exercise?
- Why are you using this certain rep scheme/rep range? Again, does this relate back to your goals?
- Are you allowing enough rest in between each set and exercise?
- Are you scheduling rest days so you aren’t overtraining?
Question why you are doing certain things and relate it back to your goals. If you’re not sure if it’s getting you to your goal, then do some research or get help from a trainer. It’s about doing things with intention. Having a specific plan and knowing the reasons why you are doing the workout will help you achieve better results. “Fail to plan, plan to fail.” With a detailed and carefully planned out program, you will get to where you want to go, safely and swiftly.
