Often clients make comments like "I'm just not feeling it this week", "I'm so low energy at the moment", "I can't lift as heavy as I normally would", "I'm just not motivated at the moment".
This can happen easily in the gym with our exercise, and it happens in many other areas of life, such as our career, parenting, healthy eating and finances.
My recent social media post was this:
Have you noticed how professional athletes and all sports have a scheduled off-season?
Have you noticed how most successful business professionals take a holiday quarterly?
The answer to feeling 'lethargic', 'unmotivated', or when you're lacking in performance (such as not being able to lift as heavy in the gym or not being able to perform at work), is to take the pressure of yourself with scheduled down-time.
You aren't a robot, and you weren't created to work 24/7 x 365 days of the year.
Why is rest important?
Breaks in work, or life, will improve mental and physical health, promote faster recovery, increase memory, creativity and focus, reduces stress, improves metabolism (yes, rest helps with fat burning too!), and improved mood.
What does scheduled rest look like?
In normal daily or weekly life it could be:
Regular sleep patterns.
Not checking work messages, emails or notifications when you first wake up or in the evenings.
Time with friends.
Completing a hobby.
At the gym, we recommend:
Scheduled de-load weeks. After training hard for a period of 10-12 weeks, take a week away from the heavy weights and high intensity workouts, and instead simply complete light exercise or walking.
Scheduled rest days or active recovery days in your week. It's unlikely, and not recommended, to intensely workout daily. We recommend scheduled rest days to stretch, walk or participate in light exercise. More exercise does not equal more results (also, eating less and less, doesn't equal more results either).
Let's workout smarter, not harder. A good personal trainer will be able to plan your program with three-five workouts a week, adequate nutrition (enough carbs and protein is vital), and rest days. You'll still see results and you'll enjoy it more too!
At work:
Schedule your holidays in advance, often taking a few days off each quarter is ideal, especially if you've just finished a big project.
Create boundaries around your work schedule and turn off work notifications and emails to your phone, to enjoy downtime.
Debrief with a supervisor if you're having a hard time, don't attempt to keep it to yourself, or fix it yourself (that's very emotionally draining).
If you would like some assistance with improving your mindset, please send me a message as I do offer mindset coaching (online and in-gym), or if you'd like to develop a stronger mindset and gain more self awareness, purchase the "Unlock Your Mind, Free Your Potential" Mindset Journal here: www.freedomlifestyle.fitness/mindset