First, your sleep patterns and energy levels will feel the effects. Eventually, your immune system crashes, and you lose your appetite. Sound familiar?
\nPay attention to the following 10 markers. If three or more of these indicators raise a red flag, you should consider a few easy sessions or off days so you can return to exercising strong and ready to put the effort in. Learning to love rest can help your overall goals when trying to change your health.<\/p>\n
RESTING HEART RATE<\/strong>: Your resting heart rate is elevated SLEEP:<\/strong>\u00a0You didn\u2019t sleep well or enough <\/p>\n HYDRATION:<\/strong>\u00a0Your pee is dark yellow ENERGY LEVEL:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re run down MOOD STATE:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re cranky WELLNESS:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re sick PAIN:<\/strong>\u00a0You\u2019re sore or nursing an injury PERFORMANCE:<\/strong>\u00a0Your workout went poorly As an bonus, here are a couple of little tips that you can use to help with the eating healthy habits we talk about with our clients, that can help change your eating habits. DO NOT EAT IN FRONT OF THE TV<\/strong>: Eat normally, on the table, and then run or walk out a half an hour once your food has settled. Thus cut 500 calories at each meal. In front of the TV people eat more than at the table.<\/p>\n
\nTake your pulse each morning before you get out of bed to find what\u2019s normal for you. An elevated resting heart rate is one sign of stress. It means your nervous system prepared for fight or flight by releasing hormones that sped up your heart to move more oxygen to the muscles and brain. Your body won\u2019t know the difference between physical and psychological stress.<\/p>\n
\nA pattern of consistently good sleep will give you a boost of growth hormones, which are great for rebuilding muscle fibres. Several nights in a row of bad sleep will decrease reaction time along with immune, motor, and cognitive functions\u2014not a good combination for a workout.<\/p>\n
\nThis can be an indicator of dehydration, barring the consumption of vitamins, supplements, or certain foods the evening before. The darker the colour, the more you\u2019re struggling to retain fluids, because there\u2019s not enough to go around. You need H2O to operate and recover.<\/p>\n
\nIf your energy level is low, there\u2019s something amiss. The key is honesty. Sometimes we can block out signs of fatigue to push through it, thinking it will make them stronger. It won\u2019t always work that way.<\/p>\n
\nWhen your body is overwhelmed by training or other stressors, it produces hormones like cortisol that can cause irritability or anxiety. Stress also halts chemicals like dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that has a big bummer effect on mood when depleted. Crankiness probably means not enough recovery has taken place and you\u2019re not ready for that next workout .<\/p>\n
\nAny illness will increase your need for energy to refuel your immune system, which is having to work overtime. This means fewer resources available for recovering from training. Training through an illness isn\u2019t usually the best thing to try and do.<\/p>\n
\nWhether you\u2019re sore from overworked muscles or an injury, your body needs more energy to put toward repair, lengthening total recovery time. You can increase the damage from an injury or put muscles and joints at risk if training when muscles are overtired, too tight or weak. If you need advice, talk to someone with the knowledge that can help you over such a problem.<\/p>\n
\nThis is a subjective measure of workout quality, not quantity nor intensity. If you felt great on yesterday\u2019s run, you\u2019d evaluate that as good. If you felt sluggish on that same run, you\u2019d count it as poor. Tracking workout quality\u2014multiple poor scores in a row\u2014is one of the easiest ways to identify the need for more recovery. Be honest with yourself, kidding yourself you worked hard will not benefit you at all.<\/p>\n
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\nBYPASS PEANUTS<\/strong>: Do not put it as snacks on the tables in the house; especially if the bowls are very large. As many nuts are, the more you are tempted to eat. If you really cannot abstain from it, you have an alternative: pistachios. 3 handfuls of peanuts have 500 calories, while pistachios have only 200 calories.<\/p>\n