In the fitness industry there's certainly a large amount of status which gets attributed to how hard you work. People are lauded for the intensity of their workout and the more difficult it is, the higher the praise. But when it comes to consistency, performance and results, there's a deserving element which is far from the spotlight. Recovery.
The analogy I've been using with my clients this week is the story of the two lumberjacks. Each day the lumberjacks arrive together and start chopping wood at the same time. They both finish at exactly the same time every day as well. But one lumberjack, he disappears in the middle of the day for an hour. Every day, for one hour he's gone. But at the end of the day, both lumberjacks have cut the same amount of wood. So after a few months the other lumberjack stops and asks him, "Where do you go every day? We arrive and finish at the same time but I don't understand how you cut the same amount of wood if you're gone for an hour. What do you go and do?" and he replies, "I go home and sharpen my axe."
When we train, we are applying stress to our body. This is the stimulus in needs in order to adapt, BUT, your recovery time is where those changes actually take place. When you rest, your nervous system recovers and forms new pathways. Our hormones flood through our tissues to create new cells, our food gets broken down and delivered around the body to fuel our growth and our next performance. This is our equivalent of sharpening the axe. It makes our next effort more efficient and effective. Without it, the axe gets blunt, we get fatigued, run-down and in the worst case, injured.
Next time you're thinking about your workout and what you're planning to do, give yourself time to plan your recovery as well and make sure it matches the intensity of your work.
Contact our team if you are struggling with your routine or results to make sure your axe is staying as sharp as possible
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