I hope you had an awesome weekend again.
I spent another soulful Sunday helping my mother with her new place. This time it was installing her cable, internet, and phone service. Fun stuff.
In these crazy times, it’s important to understand a critical concept that could mean the difference between sticking with your fitness plan in the New Year and giving up.
It’s your Capacity.
What’s your capacity?
Your capacity is how much stress (i.e. load) your body can endure in a given day before pain and injury enter the picture.
And we’re not just talking about physical activities (like squats, deadlifts, and push-ups).
We’re MOSTLY talking about factors that add stress and load to your system outside the gym.
Like Sleep, Diet and Stress … your “Recovery Box” … which you can absolutely control.
I’ll give you an example.
It may seem like a good idea to schedule a 5:30 a.m. workout for tomorrow. You’re putting your training time on your schedule and making it a priority.
But what if you stay up working or binge-watching Netflix until 1:30 a.m. … and then go to the gym?
Bad idea. More than a bad idea, actually.
It’s a recipe for pain and injury.
Remember that when we train, we’re breaking down our muscles and connective tissues. The adaptations to the training can only happen with recovery.
And that’s your responsibility, too.
There are two ways that coaches can help you avoid going over your capacity each day (and thus, avoid pain and injury).
We can reduce the stress that your body is facing outside the gym … by improving your diet, increasing the quantity and quality of your sleep, and pursuing healthy ways to manage stress (think meditation, not alcohol consumption).
What’s the other way? Simple. We can increase your capacity. By becoming stronger, more stable when getting in and out of foundational movement patterns, and improving your joint mobility and tissue flexibility, we can “raise the bar” so that your body can tolerate more stress inside the gym.
If you spend time deliberately, purposefully and intentionally reducing the stress on your body before you get to the gym … and increasing your capacity to perform once you get there … you’re going to be light years ahead of most people.
Pretty soon, a lot of people who started a fitness program in January are going to get bored, frustrated, or worse, injured … and unfortunately, they’re going to quit.
You’re smarter than that. You’re better than that.
Don’t let that be you.
Your innie friend and coach,
Paul F. Sweatt CPT PN1
Train Smart. Train Hard. Train Safe. Train to Sweatt
P.S. – Increase your capacity and get those results you are looking for
Not seeing quite the results you wanted so far this year. I have the perfect solution for you. Work with me One-on-One and never miss a workout. If you’d like to work directly with me to stay on track in 2022… just reply to this message and put “One-on-One” in the subject line… tell me a little about your goals and what you’d like us to work on together, and we’ll discuss how it might be a fit.