How to tell if my body needs more rest vs me being lazy?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by Morik, Feb 27, 2017.

  1. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I've been out of my normal exercise routine for a while and am starting to get back into it. (When fully back in, its 2 2-hour Muay Thai classes, 2 1.5 hour BJJ classes, and 1 hour of weight training. Sometimes an hour or two of yoga class as well, depending on how much time I have.)

    One problem that I know I have is that until I've gotten fully back into my routine, I have a tendency to try to talk myself out of going for various reasons.

    For instance, I hadn't been to BJJ in a while, then went last Weds & Thurs.
    I had planned on going to Muay Thai on Saturday but didn't for various reasons (mostly being lazy).

    I weight trained yesterday (Sunday) and planned on going to Muay Thai today.
    I did pack all my gear up despite not feeling very awake/energetic this morning--I often feel kinda meh in the morning til I get my coffee.

    My mental state today has vacillated between "I feel fine I should definitely go" and "Wow just standing up and walking to the bathroom my muscles feel kinda worn down today, maybe I shouldn't go".

    How do I tell if I really do need to rest, or if I'm just trying to rationalize an excuse not to go?

    (If I don't go today I plan to go to the kickboxing class at my BJJ place tomorrow... that would be 1 hour of kickboxing followed immediately by 1.5 hours of BJJ. I prefer the Muay Thai place though cause they spar every class, while the BJJ place only offers a fundamentals class with padwork & bag work but no sparring.)
     
  2. Agoge

    Agoge Valued Member

    Your body will let you know when it needs rest. "Lazy" as it is known is a state of mind.

    You are doing a lot of training. It sounds like you may be overtraining a bit and need a little rest and recuperation. JMHO....
     
  3. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Well, but: Lets say I haven't been exercising much for 3 weeks (maybe just weight training 1-hour a week). When I consider going to class, my body feels very unenergetic/lazy/etc and I really don't wanna go.

    How do I tell that sort of feeling apart from my body needing rest?

    Once I am exercising regularly again I don't really get that first feeling--it takes a couple weeks though.
     
  4. Agoge

    Agoge Valued Member

    The body does what the mind tells it to do. The mind will quit before the body does. I have gone through the same scenarios you are dealing with now. The last time I went through that, I quit a lot of my physical training and spent a lot of time recuperating and reading a lot to refresh my mindset.

    Remember, it's always "easier" to do nothing. If that wasn't true, we wouldn't have our nation in the position of being as unhealthy as it is.

    Mind over matter....

    Just the fact that you are inquiring about this, lets me know that you are serious about training and that regardless of how you are feeling right now, you will we back on track sooner rather than later.
     
  5. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    How hard is your day job?
     
  6. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Not physical at all. (Software Engineering)
     
  7. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    How well do you sleep, and how do you usually eat?
     
  8. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    It is complicated:

    Ideally (and I tend to be able to stick to this when I'm fully on my routine):
    - ~2400-2600 calories per day (I weigh ~280 lb)
    - Fish at least 2x/week, often more
    - Minimal processed sugar (generally <10g/day)
    - Lots of veggies & fruit
    - Not too much red meat (I typically choose chicken, lean pork, and fish for proteins)
    - I tend to avoid desserts/junkfood/etc
    - 90+ oz water per day, often 130+oz on days I train

    Occasionally (1-2x/week) I'll have something with more sugar & fat in it (e.g., a cookie, a dessert at a restaurant, etc).


    However, when I fall off my routine (as has been the case since mid December), my eating stays ok for a week or two then dives off a cliff. (Days of just junk food, cake for dinner, eating out all the time, etc.)

    And then my eating will suddenly correct itself when I start exercising again, even a little bit, but then fall off again if I don't keep it up. (E.g., go back to BJJ after a month off, eat good for 2 days after that--temptations for junk food etc seem to fade away. But then if I don't keep it up and don't go back to class again, my eating gets bad again.)



    Sleep is somewhat similar--when I'm in my routine I generally get 6.5-8 hours per night. (The lower end of that range if I wake up early and can't fall back asleep, which I generally take to mean that I've slept enough. Otherwise closer to 7.5-8.)
    I overpower my mental weakness of not wanting to go to bed (I always want to stay up later, even when I'm tired) by reminding myself how bad I'll feel in class tomorrow if I don't get enough sleep.

    When I'm off my routine my sleep gets more erratic. E.g., last week I had a couple of 4 hour nights in a row, then a 12 hour night as I was exhausted.
    I generally settle into something like 5.5-7 hours of sleep when I'm not exercising regularly.
    This also ties into rationalizations to avoid going back to class when I'm off my routine. "Oh I only slept 4 hours last night, I'm too tired for class".
    (Why did I only sleep 4 hours? Cause I stayed up late, probably with the idea in the back of my mind that if I'm too tired tomorrow I'll have an excuse to skip class.)
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  9. YouKnowWho

    YouKnowWho Valued Member

    If you feel great after work out, you may be lazy. Otherwise, you may be tired.

    The reward for working out is to feel great afterward. The problem for laziness is you will never feel great. IMO, laziness is like the cigarette smoking, you will never have chance to enjoy the fresh air going through your lung.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  10. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    Gains are made when 3 things are in place.

    • Rest
    • Nutrition
    • Training

    Fail in any one of those areas and you won't make gains.

    The first thing I'd recommend is do less.

    Factor in at least two rest days per week and keep hydrated at all times.

    I'd keep a diary and write down what you eat and drink, the training and rest you get and how much energy you have throughout the day.

    This will help you see if it's the training, nutrition or sleep that is making you tired.

    Another question is are you fuelling your workouts. So have you eaten enough to get you through the demands of a physical lifestyle.

    Also are you getting the correct vitamins and minerals into your diet, as this can have a dramatic effect not only on your physical energy, but your mental wellbeing too.
     
    Knee Rider likes this.
  11. Nachi

    Nachi Valued Member Supporter

    Unlike others, I am far from any expert on nutrition and fitness in general. However, from what you wrote or how you wrote it, it seems to me that you yourself know you are making excuses for yourself not to go to training. If you felt exhausted or that your body would tell you not to go, you would probably know that, too.
    That said, I don't think being lazy like this is something bad. You should do what you enjoy and are in a mood for. If you had a break but still are enthusiastic to go back to training and when comes the time you don't want to go... why don't you just make yourself a plan to go maybe just two days a week (which you'll plan in advance)? Training too many days all of a sudden, especially if you don't feel like it, doesn't seem like a good idea to me...
    When you get used to regular training, which shouldn't take long, just add more days. Just my humble opinion :Angel:
     
  12. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    My planned schedule does have 2 rest days in it.
    Basically:
    Su: Weight training 1hr
    Mo: Muay Thai 2hr
    Tu: BJJ 1.5 hr
    We: Rest
    Th: BJJ 1.5 hr
    Fr: Rest
    Sa: Muay Thai 2hr

    (I sometimes swap the Monday Muay Thai to Weds)
     
  13. Simon

    Simon Administrator Admin Supporter MAP 2017 Koyo Award

    If you are hydrated, well fuelled, sleeping well and taking rest days then you either need to do less, or review your motivation.

    Use the smart profile when defining your goals.

    Specific

    Whatever programme you do must meet the target you want it to.

    Measurable

    This is the way you measure your results.
    You could for example record the number of basketball sots you could accurately do before and after the training programme.
    In your case it may be a good idea to log each week or month how much closer you are to your stated goal.

    Achievable


    Whatever you set out to achieve it has to be possible.

    Realistic

    It must be possible and realistic to achieve what it is you intend to achieve.

    Time-based

    You must allow a reasonable amount of time to complete your desired programme.

    I have a good book that covers the psychological demands of sport I can send to you.

    It covers briefly motivation, arousal control, confidence, concentration and emotional control.

    Goal Setting

    What do I want to achieve
    Where am I now
    What do I need to do to move from my present state to my desired state

    Then present on a scale.
    Write in your goal at point 5 and your present position at point 1
    Decide what would be halfway between points 1 and 5 and this is your goal for point 3
    Then decide what would be halfway between your present state and point 3, this is your short term goal for point 2
    Then decide what would be halfway between point 3 and the desired state. This is the goal for point 4
    All these goals and outcomes must be set using the SMART principle
    Work out what needs to be done to move from point to point 2. These are your process goals and again must be set against the SMART principle
     
  14. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    So my question is only for the scenario when I'm in the process of getting from {Bad nutrition, mediocre hydration, mediocre to poor sleep, little to no exercise} -> {Good nutrition, good hydration, good sleep, good exercise}.

    Once I'm spun up and training regularly, I can generally tell if I'm too tired to train, and I generally have plenty of motivation to go train. (Its amazing--my reluctance to exercise goes away, my cravings for junk food go away, etc.)

    But when I'm working on getting back into regular training, I am struggling to identify "too tired to train" vs "I don't want to train and am just using this as an excuse". Or rather, I know I have the tendency to do the latter, so if I feel myself starting to think "maybe I'm too tired to train", I tell myself to shut up and go train.

    I don't know how to balance that against "maybe I actually am too tired to train". My main concern is if I end up injuring something--that will disrupt my routine further and make it harder to get back where I want to be in terms of regular training.
     
  15. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    Do note that there is no reason for which you'd have to train at full intensity every time. Pace yourself, work more on steadily and consistently doing things right rather than doing them harder, etc. Another thing you can do is talk this through with your MA instructors and ask them what strategies they themselves have used or know of to reduce fatigue and be able to properly do many sessions per week (they're bound to have been in a similar situation at some point or at least know people who have).

    Also, on the motivation count, how social are you with your classmates and instructors? A simple "See you in class today" can go a long way (both if it's said to you and if you say it to someone else).
     
  16. Morik

    Morik Well-Known Member Supporter MAP 2017 Gold Award

    I know a few people by name in both BJJ & Muay Thai (the people I've spent the most time rolling/sparring with), but typically there isn't much talking in the Muay Thai class. A bit more talking with my partner in BJJ, but not a whole lot and usually its about whatever we are trying to drill.

    There is time at the end of class (and before for BJJ, not for Muay Thai as everyone usually shows up right as class starts). I should probably make more of an effort to talk to people then.
     
  17. lynxie

    lynxie New Member

    That's maybe why You feel exhausted. I used to work on PC... sitting 14 hours a day. It was hard to go downstairs and get a cup of coffee.

    When I started practicing, it went away in one month, maybe sooner :hat:
     

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