I know I often post about pushing through the burn of a drop set, or digging deep in terms of self-control when it comes to your diet, but at the same time, you have to remember that optimal health is about balance, and that perhaps one of the most important factors about success in your goals is being….HAPPY! That’s right, even in the gym, studies show that enjoying yourself and having fun is perhaps on of the biggest single factors driving the anabolic state! If you are heading to the gym and really looking forward to your workouts, and enjoying the vibe of your gym, saying hello to your community there, and really loving the whole process of training, including enjoying your meals, your social time, etc. I’ve been doing yoga for over 10 years now, and I practice every day because I LOVE how it makes me feel: peaceful, vibrant and integrated. I love my diet plan, including leading up to a show, because I get to auto-regulate my eating, I eat when I want, and what I want, keeping it pretty healthy, and definitely delicious. And I love my training sessions because I limit them to 4 x a week, they’re only about 45 minutes long, and I keep it interesting for myself by focusing on the challenge of increasing the reps or upping the weights, and breaking personal records. I used to wear head phones, but now I train “free” and make sure I say hi to everybody and answer questions whenever I can, and check in with the people I have come to know there. It’s like a family there, my Indian family, and I like the sense of community…(just don’t take my barbell when I’m in the middle of a metabolic workout!). I was talking with my coach today, as we plan our strategy for my preparation for the upcoming shoot. I had just finished an article by Jason Feruggia, Mass Building Sins, and asked if I could take a week “off” – yoga only, some very light gym stuff – before starting my dial-in. In the article Jason suggested for maximum gains and stay “fresh” you need to periodically take a “rest” week, eat well and get some good sleep, and avoid over-training at all costs. I realized that I’ve hardly taken a break except for one or two weeks since May, and especially going hard since I first landed here in October. He agreed that it would be a great idea, and then explained to me what I guess I was intuiting: you need to be fresh and happy in your life to really make solid gains. Otherwise it’s like trying to reach your goals with a hormonal albatross around your neck. The stress of being conflicted between happiness and “duty” keeps you in a more catabolic state simply by chronically raising your levels of cortisol. Having fun, periodizing your training protocol, having a “cheat meal” once a week, scheduling in time with friends, or even watching a movie, and making sure you are enjoying your workouts, making great meals, getting a massage, these are all important parts of your success in the gym. It can’t always be about pain and daily grind. When you see videos of Arnold in “Pumping Iron” you see the obvious comraderie at the gym he shared with the other guys. You have to enjoy yourself along the way, or your fighting an uphill battle.
So, I”m taking the week “off” and pressing the “reset” button. I feel like I haven’t been focusing on making improvements in yoga, so I’ll spend time on that. And I want to see what I can do with my chin-up record, (currently stuck at 10) if I attempt it fresh at the end of the week. There are also a few new exercises I want to try out in advance of making my next training protocol, so without the pressure of doing a full session, I’ll go in to the gym and try those out, maybe take some videos, and do my best to spend as much time by the pool as possible, catch some movies, and enjoy myself before the 8 week dial-in begins.
Hope this was useful to you…
Paz y Luz
Michelle
