This week I’m focusing on creating a nice balance between strength training, cardio, rest and recovery, plus sharing resources so you can do the same!
It’s easy for me to talk about how important it is to find that balance because my hypermobility disorder is quick to give me a nasty reminder when I don’t honor that balance.
But the fact is, being able to find that balance and honor what our bodies are telling us is important for everyone no matter their health condition. It just becomes of paramount importance when your health is struggling.
I firmly believe that movement and nutritious food are the best medicine in the world. But every person’s body needs a slightly different balance. So it’s up to you to learn to listen to your body, and create goals and habits that honor your body’s needs.
If you’re just getting started creating balance in your life, here’s some resources to get you started:
Creating Balance Resources
Getting Started with Cardio When You Hate Cardio
Free 2 Week Getting Started with Cardio Program
Sign up for weekly tips to help you create balance, plus I’ll send you the Making Time Worksheet + Calendar!
Join the Making Sense of a Healthy Life Community on Facebook! I host a weekly check-in plus monthly challenges to help you create goals and habits that support your health and fitness.
Creating Balance in My Training This Week:
Monday
Warm Up + Foam Roll Recovery Day
I don’t spend enough time on foam rolling and recovery. That’s right. I’m just as guilty as every other person. I don’t think I have EVER met someone who actually prioritizes enough time for their recovery.
That’s because we are conditioned to believe that we must always be DOING something to achieve our goals. But when it comes to health and fitness goals, rest and recovery are just as important, if not more so.
So when I created my half marathon training program that’s going to take me through January of 2020 (oh yeah!), I made sure to give several days a week to just foam rolling and resting.
I’ll still need be doing some of my glute and core activation exercises on those days just as a warm up, but otherwise, I’m dedicating 1/3 of my training time to recovery. It’s that important.
In case you’re wondering, I’ll also be spending 1/3 of my time on strength and endurance training and 1/3 on running. That may not work for everyone, but that’s the balance I’m creating.
Read More:
Why Rest is More Important Than Your Workout
Tuesday
Deadlift Workout
I tested out a couple new upper body exercises today: TRX Inverted Rows and Cable Reverse Woodchops. They felt surprisingly good, so I did 3 sets of 10 reps each. Also did some Single-Leg Romanian Deadlifts and regular Deadlifts with more weight. We’ll see how I feel later!
Wednesday
Warm Up
We had a lot going on today so I only had time for my warm up exercises. But as I discovered last week, I can totally get by with just those exercises.
I could have taken the day off, but my neck and shoulders were really sore after Tuesday’s new exercises. So I needed to do some gentle movement to work through that.
Moving forward, when trying a new exercise, I’m going to limit it to a single set of 10 reps. I’m really lucky that I was just sore and didn’t get any increased symptoms from my neck. More proof that I’m making major progress and creating the right balance for my body!
Thursday
Running Warm Up + 35 min Run
Still sore, so I spent nearly 30 minutes on my warm up. Once I got to the run, I started feeling really good. I focused on my arm swing and keeping my neck long as I ran. Combined with really good breathing, that really opened up my upper body and helped relieve some soreness.
Friday
Warm Up + Hips & Core Workout
I haven’t done this workout in AGES! And I tweaked it a bit from a few months ago. It was an awesome, challenging full body workout and it was pretty quick! Only took me about 25 minutes!
Get the 25 minute Hips and Core Workout here.
I spent some time in the evening foam rolling (while watching Netflix of course!). How’s that for creating balance? It was amazing. You should give it a try!
Saturday
Running Warm Up + 30 min Run
After all the amazing foam rolling last night, I didn’t need to spend much time on my warm up. The run felt amazing and even my hips and neck felt 100% the entire time.
More proof that I’m creating the right balance! But also big time proof that foam rolling is amazing and makes a huge difference in my recovery and overall performance!
Sunday
Rest + Recovery Day
Had a nasty surprise yesterday afternoon when both my girls came down with a stomach bug. My poor girls spent all afternoon and evening from 3:30 – 11:00 pm throwing up. And I started getting some mild head cold symptoms. Welcome to the beginning of flu season folks!
Luckily this morning, the girls are doing loads better and we’re spending the day resting and recovering. I’m so grateful that the balance I’ve been creating gives me the flexibility to roll with sick days without stressing about what I “should” be doing.
Read More: