After coming back from some weeks away from the usual workout routine and doing some different physical activities, I believe my body (and mind) took some time to adjust. Coming back stronger in some areas, but rusty in some others, I was sore for about 4 days, I wondered whether this was the most effective way to become my best? I’m not exactly sure of the answer to that. It always feels great to have that satisfying burn and 24-28 hours muscle soreness referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS if you will). I still tried my best during the workouts following this day, but I’m not sure I was getting the most out of my training. When you have to take a moment to mentally prepare yourself to go down some stairs and brace yourself to sit on the toilet for those 24-48 hours, you may be more focused on those functional activities than going out for your long run. It’s okay to feel these things, your body is telling you it worked hard, is getting stronger and it’s just not used to that sort of movement, however, the more important questions to consider may be: what are my goals? What workout did I do yesterday? How am I feeling today? What do I have coming up? What kind of training do I have to complete for the rest of the week that you may have affected? If I have just started exercising, or just getting back into it, what is going to allow me to establish a routine that is sustainable and motivating for me to continue doing week after week? All of these are important considerations to know how to go about your workouts and how to modify your NP workouts to meet your goals.
For many of us this morning, it was our first time on the stairs… Those new crazy stairs by Parliament Hill (with a beautiful backdrop – did anyone notice the backdrop or were you keeled over trying to catch your breath or rocking the reverse burpees?). You may feel the effects of those stairs later tonight when you are sitting for too long, or tomorrow morning when you get out of bed. For others, you may have started on these stairs as soon as they opened up. Chances are, they were a challenge for everyone. So let’s talk about how to find that right challenge.
This weekend may be a race weekend for you and even though you may be able to run those stairs up and down for 30 minutes straight at 94%, is that going to help you be your best for the race this weekend? Perhaps for some of us, that’s what we need to fire those legs up, and for others, it may take some more time to recover and walking the whole time may be what we need for a mid-week shake-out. Whatever the decision, modifying the workout to get the challenge and the workout you need is what November Project is here for. We want you to simply think about how you challenged yourself this morning and reflect on whether that was the most effective way to become your best. Whether it was running, walking, single stepping, double stepping, a little mix of both, but always moving, your tribe members will support you in whatever that challenge is for you. If this was the first time, and you were a little hesitant to make it the whole time and you were feeling like you could go another 31 minutes, you’ll know you can go a bit harder next time. If you made it half-way up and were done-in for the day, next time you’ll know to slow it down to keep those legs moving up. No matter what your pace, you will never have to run or walk alone. We are just so glad you decided to #justshowup.
ANNOUCEMENTS:
1) Next Wednesday: LOCATION CHANGE: Come join us on the Lawn of the Supreme Court and also bring a friend.
2) Talk to Lauren and Liz if you want to be part of the November Project team for Motion Ball-Marathon of Sport, Oct.28 for Special Olympics
Here’s to bringing “soles” together
Liz and Lauren
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