365 Ways #109–REST: The most important component of exercise

#109–One of the most common errors I see in my clients’ training when they first begin to work with me is they don’t rest enough. Whether it be rest during the week or rest during the workout, this lack of recovery is a critical mistake. Training doesn’t make you stronger (and leaner and healthier, etc); recovery from training does!

If you’re never recovering, you’re never rested enough to workout at high enough intensities to trigger the release of growth hormone and other anabolic stimulators. So your workouts all become mediocre, and so you your results. Additionally, this lack of recovery coupled with sub-optimal nutrition and lifestyle choices puts your body in a perpetual state of catabolism.

Like writing checks on an empty bank account, you end up spending resources you just don’t have. And the bill usually comes due in the form of a fungal infection or a cold. Ignore those warning signs, and the body will often begin to actually put on weight as your metabolism slows in an effort to keep your flame from going out completely. Working out then can actually make you fat! And it can sure as hell make you sick, too. Because if you stress a body which is already in the red, the whole system will break down.