Everyone’s fitness journey can look different, but what they should all have in common is knowing the importance of muscle recovery. It can be easy to get swept up in the determination to keep pushing yourself and the high of breaking personal bests. However, it’s vital to stay grounded because the human body needs ample time to recover properly.
When you give your body time to heal, you’re reducing the risks of getting injured, exhausted, and run down. Giving yourself enough breaks is also an excellent way of practicing discipline because it teaches you how to pace yourself and keep a healthy balance of work and rest.
If you’re unsure how to tell if you should skip a workout or keep pushing yourself, here are some tips you can keep in mind:
Check Your Numbers
One of the most measurable ways to keep track of your muscle recovery is by checking your numbers. And, no, it doesn’t mean looking at the number on the weighing scale. It means monitoring your heart rate, fatigue numbers, and target times. Many professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts use activity trackers to watch over their heart rate and fatigue numbers.
If you have one of these devices, you can use it to determine if your heart rate and fatigue numbers in the morning are higher than usual. If that’s the case, you definitely should skip your workout for the day. Other numbers you can check are your target times during your exercises. If you haven’t been hitting them in your recent sessions, it’s a good sign that your body needs more time to recover.
Observe Your Body
If you’re not into the whole idea of keeping track of your numbers or if you don’t have the gadgets to do it, you can always go for the traditional method of observing how your body feels. This method can significantly improve your intuition and relationship with your body.
Some of the things you can note to determine if you should rest or keep working out revolve around your physical condition throughout the day. Observe if you’ve been feeling rundown lately, like you’re coming down with a cold. Are you feeling fatigued even though you’ve just woken up? If you confirm that you’re feeling this way, it’s a sign that your body is overworked.
What to Do If You’re Fatigued
After finding out your body is tired, there are certain things you can do to help improve your situation. Aside from canceling your workout session for the day, you can also rearrange your future sessions. If you’re working with a fitness coach, you should talk to them about how your body is feeling so that they can make the appropriate adjustments to accommodate your current physical state.
Another thing you can do is to use additional tools to help with your muscle recovery. You could start taking protein supplements to give your muscles a boost or seek professional physical therapy. They can help your body relax and build up its normal strength again.
Conclusion
Muscle recovery is a crucial factor in everyone’s fitness journey. It takes a balance of work and rest to truly achieve a holistically healthy state, which is why it’s essential to know how to listen to your body and check your numbers. If you’re still unsure if you’re pushing yourself too hard, you can talk to a professional trainer so that they can guide you through your journey.
One of the best people who can assist you through proper muscle recovery is intentional health coach Meg Parker. I am a trained holistic fitness practitioner, personal trainer, sports yoga instructor, and mental skills trainer. Don’t hesitate to contact me today if you need more guidance on your fitness journey!
