There are some weeks when it is so important to be ok with doing just enough. This was one of those weeks.
Sometimes, my body decides for me when I’ll be taking an easy week. But I usually find it’s a good idea to plan a down week every 4-6 weeks. Your body needs it. It can’t just go go go all the time and never get a break. That’s what compromises your immune system and gets you sick!
When was the last time you slowed down and did just enough – without feeling guilty?
Have you ever done some physical activity that didn’t seem intense enough to be a “real workout?” How did you feel after? I’m guessing you actually felt good. Maybe you were doing just enough to give your body the movement it craves so you could have the sustained energy to rock the rest of your day.
There truly is a fine balance between doing just enough and overdoing it. It’s true in your workouts and life in general. So this week I gave myself permission to be ok doing just enough so I could feel my best.
Will you give this a try? What will that look like for you?
Read More:
Why Rest is More Important than Your Workout
Monday
Rest Day + Nap
Today was one of the worst pain days I’ve had in a long time. My neck hurt so much that I actually had a headache – a sure sign it’s time to see my Atlas Orthogonal Chiropractor. The pain went all the way down my right leg, making it incredibly uncomfortable to be in my body.
Most often, I can keep myself busy – doing housework, playing with the kids, going out. It keeps me distracted and actually helps work through a lot of the discomfort. That’s why I’m such a proponent of using movement as part of the health and healing process.
But today, a simple trip to the playground with the kids pushed me to my limit. We came home and I had absolutely nothing left. I couldn’t think straight and my body was completely drained. So, I went straight to bed.
Thank goodness I have the most supportive husband who picked up my slack! My “doing just enough” for today was very little!
Tuesday
Full Body Strength Workout
While I still fill a little achy and “off,” I felt eons better today. So I got back into the gym, promising to do only as much as I could. I normally like to do a short 1 mile run after my strength workouts, but I guessed (correctly) that the workout alone would be doing just enough.
Wednesday
Warm Up + 6 Mile Run
Today was my practice run before my 10k next Sunday. I didn’t go into the run with a hard-and-fast goal of 6 miles either. After the pain flare up over the weekend and easing back into training, the last thing I wanted to do was overdo it. So I did a solid warm up that had me feeling ready to go and promised myself that I would simply move for one full hour. If I had to walk, I would.
I couldn’t be more thrilled to report that I was actually able to run the full 6 miles and I felt amazing doing it!
I did make sure to take it easy the rest of the day and followed some post-long run tips.
Thursday
Recovery Day: Foam Rolling + Yoga
Yoga used to be my go-to. I did yoga every. single. day. But when I started physical therapy, we decided to cut back on yoga because I was stretching too much and not working my muscles enough.
Hypermobile people often gravitate toward yoga because they are so flexible. But unfortunately, they usually just melt into each pose instead of challenging their muscles to control them through. Hypermobile people also usually have bad proprioception, or an awareness of where their joints are and how they’re moving. This described me perfectly.
Now that I’ve been doing physical therapy for 7 months and have improved my muscle strength, endurance, and my body awareness, I decided it was a good time to add yoga back in. Yoga is a perfect supplement to running to help loosen those tight muscles and prevent injury.
I did a video by one of my favorite instructors: Tim Senesi. He does a great job at giving verbal cues to improve your body awareness and muscle activation. Plus he had a Yoga for Runners video! Yay!
Friday
Warm Up + Physical Therapy
I like to do my hip and core exercises as a warm up before I go to my Physical Therapy sessions. It ensures that my body is ready for any adjustments we make, and any new exercises we test out. I love these PT sessions since I get a trained set of eyes to give me feedback on how I’m moving. And it’s a safe space to test out new exercises and troubleshoot any problem areas. This week, we realized that deadlifts are aggravating some tendinitis in my right leg. So we’re going to swap deadlifts for glute bridges with a ball squeezed between my knees. Curious to see what happens!
Saturday
Warm Up + Short Run
After a quick warm up to get my hips and core prepped for a run, I hopped on the treadmill. I didn’t set any goals or expectations other than I would go for as long I felt good. After about 2 miles I was getting tired. No more tired than I normally get after 2 miles, but I knew that was my limit for the workout. Glad I was happy doing just enough, because I felt great and had plenty of energy for everything else my kids wanted to do for the day!
Sunday
Strength Workout
In keeping with this week’s theme, I kept my strength workout super short and sweet. Most of my workouts last about 45 minutes to an hour, but today’s was only 25 minutes. I worked my entire body with just enough emphasis on my hips and core so I felt like my muscles were prepped to hold me together the rest of the day.
I also tested out my new exercise: glute bridge with a ball squeeze between my knees. It felt good, challenged the same muscles as deadlifts, but did not immediately flare up my tendinitis. We’ll see how it feels later in the day and tomorrow!