Train Hard. Train Smart. Stay Healthy.

I was asked the question earlier this week if I’ve every experienced a serious injury; one that has ever derailed my training and forced me to take a step back. I answered truthfully with, “Only once.” The follow-up question as you might imagine was,  “How?” After several seconds of consideration, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Because I train smart, listen to my body, and try not hard to prevent others from influencing me.”

Train Smart: Progression, specificity, and REST are three of the most important areas of training that get lost in the day to day of working out. YouTube videos of crazy ridiculous exercises and what you’re buddy did in his or her workout yesterday often dictates where your training takes you. A well designed weekly, monthly, or for some a yearlong training program that is laid out to PROGRESS your fitness is a far smarter way to approach train. The risk of injury and overtraining are significantly reduced because there is a plan in place. I’ll also add the means by which you train are SPECIFIC to your goals. To simplify, why train like a football player when you’re goal is to run a 10K or half marathon. 

With progression, specificity applied to your workouts, rest becomes the next key component to be mindful of. Let me be very clear. Read this slow so it sinks in. REST DAYS ARE JUST AS IMPORTANT AS HEAVY TRAINING DAYS. Without physical and mental rest, your body will not make the gains you are so desperately seeking. I’m not talking about taking a week off and jumping right back in. I’m talking about building in 1-2 days a week of rest to your weekly routine. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again there are always exceptions to the rule but taking 1-2 days off a week and making the most out of your remaining training days will do more for you than you think.

Listen to your Body: How many times have you fought through a pull or an ache or a feeling of sluggishness that led to something more? I did and that is what put me on the sideline when training for my second attempt at a marathon a million years ago. I failed to have a properly designed program in place to progress my mileage. I failed to take the time to address mobility and core strength. My IT band tightened up to the point I could barely walk. The one thing I did right was pull out of the race after weeks of training in the pool. I listened to my body and made the decision that those 26.2 miles weren’t, in the long run, that important to me.

Listening to your body isn’t that hard. You know if you’re in pain. You know if you can’t give 100% and exercise modifications are being all too common place. The hard part about listening to your body is coming to terms with stepping back and saying, “Not today.” AND…being okay with it. Really, okay with it.

Avoid Peer Pressure: Just Say No should really be the title of this section because that is exactly what you have to do. Don’t get me wrong there is a time and place for peer pressure. Friendly competition is great and a way to help push you to your limit. If you know you can handle that extra push why not step up to the challenge? There are times however when allowing the pressure to get to you is more detrimental than helpful. No, you do not have to go ride 150 miles just because your friends did last weekend of. No, you do not have to put your feet past the anchor point on a TRX Mid Row just because someone next to you is. If your form is total crap and you can’t hold your core tight, backup, you haven’t earned that progression. No, you don’t have to come to class for fear the rest of the class might heckle you even though you’re dog-tired and need to sleep. There will be more classes and more opportunities to go toe to toe with friends in class. Check your ego at the door and make the smart decision.

There are plenty of ways to train and I’m not saying one way is better than another but if you want to remain healthy, stay on track with your training goals, and even do something that might seem a little out of your reach you have to follow the advice above. The easy part is that it is all about you and no one else. The hard part is that it really does all comes down to you and your ability to follow through. 

Train Hard. Train Smart. Stay Healthy!

SK