Listening to your Body

I was always taught if something feels off.. it’s probably off. This is very true in fitness as well. Whether it be not feeling top notch and taking a day off from the gym, doing an exercise that doesn’t exactly feel right, or game planning your workout splits for the week. It is very important to listen to what your body is telling you and set yourself up for success.

For example, I have not been feeling the best for the last week and would usually try to power through which does not usually turn out the best. This time, I listened to my body which was telling me to stay in bed, charge your batteries and get ready to get back at it next week. Taking a week off is pretty tough for me, especially when I am rarely able to even leave the couch, but sometimes it is what your body needs. I am finally getting to the point where I am almost all recovered and getting my energy back to where it was before.

Another example of listening to your body is planning your workout splits. When you first start working out, or even start with a new workout program, one of the first things you’ll see is how often you are training each muscle group. This can vary with what workout program you are doing, but it is important to listen to your body when making these decisions. For example, if you’re working your legs 2x per week and every other muscle group once and you notice your legs being extremely fatigued constantly (in a bad way of course), it may be time to listen to your body and make an adjustment to your splits.

Finally, another time it is vital to listen to your body is when a workout doesn’t feel right. We have all been here.. you are trying a new workout that you have wanted to try and instead of feeling the burn that you are after, you feel more of a pinching pain that just doesn’t feel good. I suggest handling this situation by taking a video of yourself doing the movement and then comparing it to a video of someone demonstrating the proper way to do the exercise. When I do this I can often times pinpoint exactly what I am doing wrong and correct the movement to get the desired affect.

Life is far from perfect, and your workout routines are bound to be the same way. It is important to be adaptable. What is your approach when trying a new exercise and it just doesn’t feel right? Let me know in the comments below!