You get up at the usual time of 6am and notice as you head for the shower a nagging headache. Popping a couple of aspirins with your vitamin c drink you put the rough feeling in your body down to the red wine which you had with dinner.

As the day goes on in the office your whole body feels like you slept in a tumble dryer but you convince yourself that the workout at the end of the day will sweat it out and you’ll feel at the end like a new invigorated person. Once in the locker room you begin more and more to feel as if you’ve just finished a half marathon but actually you’re only putting on your gym kit.

Halt right there and think! I’m sure all of us have been through this situation at one time or another. It certainly reminds me of one of my favourite country songs by Randy Travis, “The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions”. Well now your intention of making any physical progression or even staying at your present level of health is being threatened by some guilt that you’ll let yourself slip off the road to super shape by giving your workout a miss. The truth is just the opposite and by making the decision not to train at this moment will actually get you back to the gym in better form and with a more positive effect a lot quicker. The laws of recovery simply mean that if your body doesn’t adapt to the stress of a workout it will actually get weaker not stronger. If ones system is already fighting fatigue or illness training can make the medicine worse than the disease!

Having worked with many professional athletes over the years and observed some great coaches I’ve noticed when players were rested not just for games but for practice. Some were told just to hit the steam room since their level of fitness was such that a push too far would hinder rather than help the player. I have also noticed the opposite where over training brought on injury and illness and forced an eventual long lay off. We as recreational athletes must realise that you can always add intensity to a workout ,however once you’ve over cooked yourself the damage is done and pushing too hard at the wrong times can lead to over training (injuries and illness).

As I say to my clients, its easy to train hard , however it’s harder to train right. The statement “listen to your body” is true. You must act as your own wise coach and be instinctive with your training. Knowing when to cut down training intensity duration, or to give it a complete miss is what will keep us fit and healthy now and in years to come.

Josh