I logged into my Facebook account the other day and saw a post from a fellow Beachbody Coach talking about how he had taken some time off from working out because he realized he had been pushing too much. Even with the recovery weeks that are built into P90X, Insanity and other programs it still had diminishing returns on his results. It got me thinking if I was in the same boat right now from workout out too much.
Since I started doing P90X in 2008 the at home workout programs made by Beachbody have been my go to fitness products. I am very happy with the results I’ve earned from them. So much so that I only go to the gym to swim. The structure with the programs has kept me on track and it challenges me. I do other things besides workout like play softball, ski, snowboard, mountain bike, and anything else that involves being active. I workout to be able to enjoy doing those things.
This year I noticed something different and that coaches post kind of put some things together. Over the past 9 months I have pushed myself harder than ever before. Went snowboarding in April for 7 days in Utah amongst other day trips riding in Michigan, completed the Insanity Asylum program, played at least 100 softball games, put over 300 miles on my mountain bike, and still worked out 5 days a week when not on a program. I feel beat up.
My tennis elbow injury was my breaking point and it’s still not going away. I tried to find ways around the injury and workout but I felt like I just could not get going. I struggled with all of my workouts and its like my body was trying to tell me to get lost. The harder I pushed the more my body fought. Could it be that my body really needs a break that bad?
Its been about two weeks now and I’ve only worked out twice with a couple of light jogs. My mind is saying to do more but my body is saying no so I don’t. This is a lot less than my normal 5 day a week workout plan plus sports. What I’ve noticed is I’m starting to get some energy back and my body is feeling like it’s recovering. I feel stronger somehow too. Didn’t think I could get stronger by doing nothing. Yes, I feel a little blobby sometimes but am regaining my strength.
Reading a little bit further into that coaches post he talked about hitting a peak output and trying to time it correctly. This started to make sense to me. In the winter I might snowboard once a week on the trash dumps here in Michigan which barely get my legs warmed up with my normal workout load. In the summer I get back to playing softball, still workout, and ride my bike. He’s saying you need to take advantage of the offseason and pick the right time to get back at it so your fitness peaks when you need it to. This is making more sense the more I read into it.
I’m still a couple of weeks away from starting P90X2 and I think it’s a good thing I came across his post. My mind and body were not in the same place. One was saying go and the other was saying no. Gonna do a light running, yoga, and ab routine til the end of the year just to stay moving but also to recover. Hopefully I’ll be well rested by the New Year for Tony Horton and P90X2 with an end date around April 1st. This works for me because that’s when I get back into playing double-header softball games twice a week amongst other activities.
Have any of you felt like this? I’m curious to know if anybody else has hit this kind of wall before. Please leave a comment below with what happened to you.
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