So today I woke up real sore. My quads ached when I squated down and my triceps throbbed when I extented my arms. I woke up to a text from my friend sarah that said "gym today?" I replied with "I'm super sore so I'm not sure." and then another text that read, "I want to though! I'm torn." I really was torn I wanted to exercise. I exercise everyday. I love the feeling it gives me. Part of me thinks that my spirituality is based on exercise and being outside. I wanted to workout but I knew that my body was telling me to take a day off. I knew that if I did take today off I would perform better tomorrow. I also knew that any gym workout I did today wouldn't have felt as good as a workout I did when I wasn't sore. Sarah replied with, "No you gotta recover today." I told her that I was going to go for just a little workout at the gym and then maybe walk my dog. She said, "Don't you dare. I'm not going and you're not going. We will go tomorrow and have an even better cardio sesh."
She talked me out of going to the gym and working out. I really appriciate that. Sometimes it takes another athlete's perspective to tell you when you've done enough. It's natural for me to expect a lot out of my body and sometimes I need someone to tell me to sit and take a rest. Thanks Sarah!
As I was texting Sarah this morning I was also googling "Is it good for your body to exercise when you are sore?" And basically what the Internet told me was that when you are sore it is okay to do very light cardio such as walking or biking. This light heart rate elevation increases blood flow which gets more nutrients to the sore areas of your body. I also saw reminders about how muscle isn't built during workouts. It's build after workouts when your body is recovering. Therefore if you don't let your body recover you will start to overtrain which will decrease performance.
Once again the lesson here is to honor your body. Take that rest day! There is a reason that almost every crossfit gym in the world is closed on Sunday! They expect you to work hard every other day of the week so that you need a day of rest.
I ended up taking my dog for a long walk down the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail of Anchorage, Alaska. It was beautiful outside. I saw a ton of happy people enjoying the day in an active way. I said hello to almost everyone I passed and helped a tourist find a moose. I couldn't have asked for a more peaceful and fulfilling afternoon. Also the adoration I have for my pooch is fairly amazing and I had a blast just spending time with him.
Bre: A glorious and well earned rest day. ED: Telling me to wear pants when I should've showed some skin and got a tan.
Love always,
Bre
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