This has happened many times in my twelve years as a trainer:
A client comes in for a session and is expecting me to give them a hard workout but they look worn out before we even start. I can see their exhaustion (perhaps brought on by emotional distress, not enough quality food, or too little sleep) in their dull stares. So we begin with a light warm-up and they huff and grunt as if it were their heavy set. Nothing about the workout appears to be pleasurable, just painful and torturous. Within ten minutes I make the call to switch to a much lighter workout, one that requires no weights, just some deep breathing, stretching and laying on a mat.
From what I can tell, there are two reasons people work out when they should be resting instead. The first is that they simply don’t know why they shouldn’t. While working out regularly with moderate to high intensity exercise does increase immune function over the long term, exercising actually suppresses your immune system for the short term. It’s a stressor. If you work out while you feel run down or sick, you are greatly increasing the likelihood of getting worse. And that is counter-productive and no fun.
The second reason is guilt. I can’t tell you how many times I have had clients show up for a session terribly sick and when I ask them why they hadn’t cancelled, they replied,
I didn’t want to be lazy.
LAZY?! These are usually the same people who hold demanding executive level positions, train three to five times a week, take piano and cooking lessons and volunteer with the local Big Brothers Big Sisters. I doubt being lazy has ever been a problem of theirs. Clients who don’t take sick days from the gym due to guilt seem to have a much harder time changing their workout habits. Perhaps this is because guilt can be such a loaded emotion carrying with it a long history.
So what do I do when clients show up not feeling well? My main focus is to release tension, circulate their blood and lymph, and aid in the body’s elimination of waste and toxins. The idea is to help their body cope with and release the stress it is under through with a combination of light, flowing movements, deep breathing and stretching, similar to yoga. I pay attention to how they respond. If it is clear that even this light stretching proves too much, I tell them to go home and simply rest.
Instead of just continuing with your habitual routine the next time you are not feeling well, take a moment to check in with your body. What is it saying to you? Is it begging for a rest? Is it telling you to head home and go to bed early? Is it requesting an easy listening playlist? I personally love reading a good book in my favorite armchair while listening to Cesaria Evora with a mug of herbal tea at my side.
The way to a healthy, strong body is not solely by intense workouts. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all.
Jamie Dreyer is a co-founder of Blog Further and the President of Further Fitness NYC.
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April 24th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Tony
Thanks for taking the time to write this nice blog post . Useful info even though can’t agree all you mentioned. But anyway… have a nice Saturday