I am a good sore from my boot camp class last night. I feel it all over but I am not too sore where it will effect my daily tasks

As a former athlete I have realized the importance of taking rest and recovery seriously. If we don’t there is a risk of overtraining and injury. I have experienced overtraining and it really effects the body in a negative way. Here are some symptoms of not taking rest and recovery days:

• fatigue that lasts more then usual and can be chronic
• you describe your workouts as draining and not energy boosting
• you don’t get proper sleep, or are over tired
• you aren’t able to perform as well as you used to, in the gym you might notice you can’t lift as heavy as you used to or you get tired easier

When I played softball in college I experienced overtraining. On my “OFF DAYS” or days we didn’t have practice I put in extra hours in the gym. I would go to the weight room and lift extra and then I would run extra outside (sprints or long distance running). I thought this would put me at the top and give me an advantage but it didn’t. I was more tired and I felt that I couldn’t keep up. All my extra hard work wasn’t working. I soon realized I just had to work 110% on the assigned practice and game days and then let me body recover on the days we weren’t training.

With this approach I achieved faster results. 

Now that I am not playing a sport I use the same method in the gym and with my work schedule. As much as I would love to teach classes all week long it isn’t realistic. I need rest to keep going and to get stronger.

Nutrition also plays an important role in this process…. blog post to come on this topic!!!!

SOOOO all this talk about rest and recovery means I am going to entertain Miss Ava with lots of smiles & kisses. I am back to work on Monday so I am taking advantage of this lovely relaxing day. HAPPY FRIDAY!