I wanted to devote some time to the subject of overtraining. Some folks in my orbit and myself included love to push it right to the edge…take a look around, and then push it some more! If you find yourself in this category, let’s have a chat, shall we.

It’s true that I enjoy waking at 3 a.m. to start my day when I’m on day shift. I’m usually out the door by 4 a.m. going to the gym or on the road, running. I find that if I get after it first thing in the morning, it cuts down on my stress level throughout the day, and generally makes me feel better. I also love the fact that so few people are out there during these hours doing the same thing. I’m not completely anti-social, but I will admit, I enjoy my “personal space”. I keep this regiment at least 5 days a week, in some cases 6. I try to make myself take at least one full day off from everything, but I’ve found that on these stretches of pushing, I can eventually get tired, lethargic, and even slightly irritable. There may have been a moment in my not so distant past that I came home from work and just fell asleep right in my chair with my work clothes still on, holding my cell phone. It’s good for a chuckle, but the underlying theme here is that my body is trying to tell me something…ease up!

I’ve gotten better at taking cues or signals from my body. At times they’re subtle or gentle reminders. Other times, it’s a full kick in the ass! The body is an amazing machine that knows how things are supposed to run, even when you think you know better. Believe me, I’ve thought, on more than one occasion that I knew better. If you take a moment and just listen, your body will send you messages on a regular basis, but be careful to pay attention to the body, and not get the signals crossed with that evil shit that hangs out in your brain, trying to send it’s own set of signals. “Run more miles, run them faster, lift more weight, do it everyday of the week!” When those start coming through, stop and question them. Take a moment and really evaluate what’s going on with the body. Are you tired, like really tired, to the point of fatigue? Does everything in your body hurt and you just don’t want to move? Yeah, those are the moments you need to derail that evil shit and get things back in order.

I was recently chatting with my dietician about my body. Where I’m at on my weight, how I feel etc. She put things into perspective when I was stressing about the numbers on the scale. “Robert, in order to perform at the level that you expect your body to perform, you’re going to have to be at a certain weight. You can’t be completely shredded down to nothing, and think that you’ll perform your best…that’s just not how it works. Professional athletes set time aside to rest, eat more calories and just be, in order to perform at the highest level when the time comes”. Wow…she’s right, and a wonderful voice of reason. She also commented on my falling asleep in the chair, in my work clothes, with my phone in hand. She said, “I think that’s a big wake up call from your body saying dial it down”. Yes, “dial it down”. That’s exactly what I did, and the results were immediate. My time in the gym became more productive, my runs were quicker and heart rate was more efficient. I decided to be gentle with myself. Yes, I know I talk about pushing the limits, and I still do. I also found that resting, stretching, getting enough fluids, and just taking time away from my training puts my body back into balance, and then the performance takes off!

Like I said, the body is an amazing machine and it knows what needs to happen. “Trust the process”. The process is to eat well, (feed the machine), get rest, drink plenty of water, and take a day or two off. You can still make it an active day off and go for a nice walk, or a slow paced bike ride. Take the time to breath! The end result is you’ll be happier and your body will pay you back in spades! Oh, and the evil shit sending all the noise, well, the noise still comes, but you know who to listen to and what to do now. Just shut the noise down.

Whatever you’re going through, and wherever you need to be, your body will get you there, just remember to be gentle when it begs for a break. This my friends is a true story!

I’ll see you on the road…

Zombie