I’ve been doing boot camp for a while now-about 7 years. And as much as I love boot camp, and as much as I am IN LOVE with all of my campers, it can get old on my body or more accurately it makes my body feel old, cranky & broken.
Contributing to the issue is that in addition to my derriere being an unproportionately strong muscle I have a pretty big “suck it up” muscle too. It can be great, it can help me get a lot done. It can also turn me into a workhorse. Acknowledging my workhorse tendencies, I recently made a promise to myself: I will do yoga at least once a week. I’ve had membership at a yoga studio 1 mile from my house for about a year because I knew it was something I should do and it’s not like I couldn’t watch a video online, it just wasn’t a priority. But since I made The Promise, I haven’t missed a week and because I have seen benefits and results I often get more than 1 in a week.
I have also started doing some mobility work with a lacrosse ball for those times I feel like I have a knot in my shoulder the size of a clementine. I’ve started taking hot showers and doing 30 minutes of stretching before bed a couple of nights a week. I’ve been taking a full day off. Not going for a jog, not lifting, not cycling. Just restoring. I like to imagine my muscles taking a deep sigh and repairing the microscopic tears I’ve made in them that week. BTW, that’s real science talk. You have to rest for your muscles to repair and that means taking a day off can mean greater workout gains. Since I’ve I been doing this I haven’t felt Granny. I haven’t wondered what the heck I’m doing to my body, haven’t felt the need to question whether boot camp workouts are really good for it; I don’t feel like I’m abusing it.
Often I hear people talk about yoga negatively and I think they feel it should be a blood pumping workout that leaves you crazy sweaty and energized to take on your day-and it can be, but I ask you to free your mind. Look at yoga schedules and find what you think will be the least amount of a workout, the most amount of restorative time. OR find a class here and do it at home.
It doesn’t have to be yoga. You could stretch after an epsom salt bath or a sauna but add an off restoration day and see how you feel and take note of whether your workouts improve-speed, reps, ability for quick pun creation. What is your BEST restoration practice?
Source: Decatur – Tips
