A question we all have in mind when missing a few days, or even weeks, of training.
The main question isn’t what exercises should I include on my workouts – it’s how consistent I am on my training.
Sometimes it’s not your priority to go to a class and by spacing your workouts too far apart, you don’t give your body enough of a chance to build off that last workout. Every time you exercise, you remind your muscle that movement and he can get ready and strong for it, however if you stop doing it for too long it tends to relax again because is not needed.
In fact, research published in the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that taking just two weeks off can significantly reduce your cardiovascular fitness and lean muscle mass. So all that fun pain during a Reformer Class to get stronger will be gone.
On the flip side, though, scheduling workouts too close together doesn’t give your body enough time to fully recover.
After all, every workout is physiological stress to your body. Too much stress without enough recovery puts you at risk of overtraining, lackluster results and injury.
Workout routines aren’t one-schedule-fits-all, and it’s vital to schedule your workouts appropriately for your goals.
You can approach your exercise program as a permanent lifestyle change and incorporate it as a daily or near-daily routine, rather than the ‘weekend-warrior’ mentality.
Let’s consider for a moment the individual variability & lifestyle variability
Genetics: Be happy to be healthy and understand what feels good for your body and look for different goals of achievements. Never compete with anyone about your lifestyle. Maybe your twin brother…
Energy balance: During the period of changing diets, if you are in a caloric deficit, it can make sense to decrease the volume of training. Particularly during an energy deficit it is important to consume enough protein to enhance recovery and prevent unnecessary muscle loss, but think that you need to find something sustainable and never a two weeks starvation diet.
Lifestyle: A stressful lifestyle, not sleeping enough, too much alcohol consumption and eating too much junk are issues that have to be analysed, no matter what your training frequency is. All of these factors reduce the body’s ability to recover and are counter-productive for muscle and strength gains.
Exercise can take a big chunk on your schedule, but the rest of the day will be more productive and you will FEEL GREAT ABOUT YOURSELF!
