Strength Essentials716

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Train hard AND recover

Squatting at Strength Essentials 716

We are made for movement.

The more I walk, train, move around, the better I feel.

Yes, we need rest and recovery also.

But MOST people nowadays need MORE movement.

This morning I got to the gym when it opened to do some cardio.

Starting with the bike, I got a good sweat going.

Then I realized I was starting to think about taking it easy.

I showed up. It's better than most, right?

Right then I had a choice to make.

Let these weak thoughts bring me down a level OR step UP and push a little harder..

I decided to get on the stairs and start climbing.

No one likes the stairs.

GOOD.

Meet the first resistance of the day HEAD-ON.

Get after it.

NExt.

Every day we have an opportunity. Many of them actually.

To become who we are capable of becoming.

Not every day has to be an all-out assault on the heavy weights.

Or a sprint, jump and burpee extravaganza that leads to wanting to puke or die.

You can go hard with your rest and recovery.

Hard work preparing your meals to fuel your life and health.

Doing the active recovery work that is often boring and tedious but beneficial in the long-run.

Take stretching and yoga, for example.

It's not intense like running a marathon or lifting heavy maximal weights, but it requires time and effort.

Put your energy into moving more, eating more of the foods that make you feel good and strong.

Stretch it out, do some deep breathing and yoga to help your body to go from the "fight or flight" to rest and recovery mode.

Go hard or go home is one of those extreme phrases that sends the wrong message.

I think of everything as part of my training.

Long walks, bike rides, stretching, rucking..

That way I don't think I'm taking a day "off"..

It works for me to keep at it daily.

You need to give the body a reason to change, and that requires resistance.

Lifting weights, moving more, doing your aerobic cardio work.

But you also need to give the body a signal that it's time to recover and get away from the stresses of modern life. 

Turn off the tv, the phone, the laptop and all the noise.

Get quiet.

Only THEN can you hear your inner guide.

That's why I always talk about taking walks in nature.

Train hard AND recover hard.

Long walks in the woods are GREAT recovery.

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