Under recovery is no joke, and when you realize that there might be a way to fix it, you better dive in head first! While working out hard is important, fully recovering from those workouts might arguably be even more important.
I used to struggle with a lot of these and it took me a lot longer than it should have to put 2+2 together. So maybe this will help someone out there, too (:
Never Fully Recovering
My work day used to end at whatever time I went to the gym. I would walk out a braindead zombie and my ability to concentrate, answer emails, or work productivity to any capacity would become pretty much zero. I slowly pushed my workout time out to later and later in the evening, to compensate… but boyyyy what a red flag.
I also used to wake up repeatedly during the night, every few hours. The first time I’d wake up, I’d usually be starving and ravenously hungry (so I’d eat a banana or a handful of whatever and then climb back into bed). And then I’d spend the remainder of the night waking up every 1-2 hours.
I also used to think I wasn’t “getting a good workout” unless I felt super sore and finished every workout gasping for air, covered in sweat, and rolling around on the floor (doh).
I could tell similar stories for pretty much everything on the list. But you don’t know what you don’t know.
Things I’ve Learned
All of those years I wasn’t fully recovering from my workouts definitely caught up to me. But now, I definitely know better. Here are some of the things I’ve changed.
- Eating enough calories (RIP all those years of eating 1200-2000 cals when my maintenance is really like ~2300 cals)
- Def wasn’t eating enough carbs (because of Paleo, and all the fear-mongering around carbs) 😭
- I was terrified of rest days at the time, so I definitely wasn’t taking those, let alone enough of them
- I was training at like, RPE 9-10 every day and “competing,” rather than training 🤦🏼♀️
- I was also just doing too much in general because I’d do a CF workout, then extra strength, skill work, and cardio. Some days I also went to yoga or would run 3-5 miles.
All this to say – your body is always trying to communicate with you. Maybe don’t leave the phone ringing off the hook like I did from 2012-2017.
Where To Go From Here
If you found yourself saying “yes” to a lot of things on the infographic, it might be a good time to get curious and look at your nutrition and workout habits (and maybe check us out at @paragontrainingmethods)!
