The Dilemma: Pushing Through a Workout When Fatigued or Taking a Recovery Day
Like most people who like to train hard for challenging competitions or selection programs, one thing that maybe holding you back is the lack of variety. Personally, as a person who likes training variety, I'm confident that you really want to avoid stale and boring workouts as well as see regular improvement, but also have the ability to recover and perform at new personal records.
Ultimately, what you want is train hard while getting better at recovery. In the past, you've experienced failure with training too hard, getting injured, and burning out. The failure to add recovery days or even deload weeks could be a simple culprit to your performance issues.
In fact, if you're like most hard charging people who like to go hard or go home, you’re really apprehensive about feeling like you are cheating yourself. Not training mental toughness by pushing through tired days of training is not something you even consider. Sure, there is a time and place for that ability, but you have to also realize that there is a fine line between being mentally tough and stupid. Eventually, the body breaks down and you will see such things appear as overuse injuries, illness, or just reduced performance if you are lucky and make the change ahead of the pain.
None of this may be your fault because we all have pushed hard when training for a challenging goal. Sometimes learning LESS IS MORE is a huge ego check, but the results will speak for themselves. Not everything that is worth doing needs to be overdone. There is a cost to pushing too hard, just as their is a benefit to pushing perceived limits. However, a smart mobility day well placed into the week yields NOTHING but benefits. Seriously.
Here's something you may not know...
The thing that's really sabotaging your success here is understanding you need some variety in your training routines. You can still have some of your favorite exercises, but changing the choreography and arrangement of those exercises regularly makes a big difference in not creating these training overloads and quite frankly – boredom with your training.
You can actually get quite creative with your workouts, but still adhere to sound physiological principles and push yourself the way you like, but also actively pursue recovery. See recovery article and section below for ALL the ways you can help yourself recover well and perform better.
300 Workout Options in these Three Books
No worries if you are not very creative with your training. There are many programs developed by Stew Smith CSCS that challenge you thoroughly, add diversity but still focus on specific training goals, push internal mental toughness dialogue, and engage recovery throughout the week. (SEE BELOW) It is a lot to juggle in a week, but it can be done with smart split routines, non-impact cardio options, and a mobility day added into the week.
The programming section below hold some of my favorite NEW workouts you've been looking for to get the results you want. If you really want to train hard while getting better at recovery at the same time, these latest programs that incorporate Mobility Days strategically into the week are a place to start. However, you can simply add in the mobility in the middle of the week and watch the rest of the week’s performances be so much better. The Mobility Day proves LESS IS MORE every week for me and even my young Spec Ops Candidates. Trust me, the remaining days of the week can be a higher level of intensity and performance than you ever thought possible.
Check out these classic recovery options you have to add to ANY program you do. But check out the latest programs that incorporate this training philosophy directly into the training weeks.
Specific Programming That Actively Pursues Recovery & Stress Each Week AND Adds Variety to Your Training
ALL New in 2019-2020
NEW: Calisthenics and Cardio (only) (Spring / Summer Cycle)
NEW: Stew Smith's Fall / Winter Lift Cycle
NEW: Stew Smith's Spring / Summer PT / Cardio Cycle
NEW: 101 Best Pyramid Training Workouts (Old School classic reborn)
Tactical Fitness for the Athlete Over 40 Series
Fitness For Over 40-50+ You Can Feel Good Again! With a Few New Rules...Mobility Day is ONE of them.
Part 1 - Foundation Building (12 weeks) (book / ebook)
Part 3 - Ready to Compete (12 weeks) (book / ebook)
Part 4 – Tactical Fitness For the Athlete Over 40 (16 weeks) (book / ebook)
"Actively Pursue Recovery and Healthy Maintenance"
Check out the Stew Smith Fitness Store for more information on what we have available.
Special Ops Programming
Navy SEAL Workout Phase 1 Beginner Weeks 1-9
Navy SEAL Workout Phase 2 - 3 - Intermediate Weeks 1-12
Navy SEAL Workout Phase 4 Grinder PT - Four weeks before Hell Week
and many more.
Military Programming
and many more...
Police and Fire Fighter Programming
General Fitness Programming
Home Gym Programming
Personalized Training Programs - Personalized online coaching available too - any fitness level. We will place recovery days personally for you when you need them. In fact, most people on the PT CLUB program are over 40 with specific health and fitness goals.
Try Our Stew Smith Fitness Members Only Club - #1 Best Selling Tactical Fitness Programs - Even though these are generic training weeks you receive each week, we place a recovery day and a day off each week for both Spec Ops Candidates and Beginners alike.
Questions? Just email me at Stew@StewSmith.com
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