The Untidy Truth: Embracing the Rollercoaster of Exercise
We've all been there. One day, you lace up your shoes, step out the door, and feel like you could conquer the world. Every stride is effortless, every lift feels light, and you finish feeling utterly invincible. Then, just a few days later, you attempt the same workout, and it feels like you're dragging a ton of bricks. Your body feels heavy, your mind is foggy, and every movement is a monumental effort. And let's not forget all those "just okay" days in between—the ones where you show up, get it done, and feel... fine.
If this sounds familiar, take a deep breath. You are not alone, and you are not doing anything wrong. This, my friends, is simply the untidy, beautiful truth of consistent exercise. Every single one of my athletes experiences the ups and downs of exercise and..so do I!
Your Body: A Complex, Ever-Changing Machine
Our bodies are magnificent, but they are also incredibly complex and reactive. Human science is my favorite topic and over the years I have started to see the connection between the emotional and physical body. They're not robots programmed for identical performance day after day. A myriad of factors can influence how you feel and perform:
Sleep Quality: Even one restless night can drastically impact your energy levels.
Nutrition: What you ate (or didn't eat) yesterday, or even hours before your workout, fuels your performance.
Stress Levels: This is a huge one! Work deadlines, family concerns, emotional tension—your mind's stress can manifest physically, increasing cortisol and making your body feel less ready to push.
Hormonal Fluctuations: For women especially, monthly cycles can significantly affect strength, endurance, and energy. Hormonal changes later in life can affect both. men and women.
Hydration: Being even slightly dehydrated can lead to fatigue and reduced performance.
Residual Fatigue: Sometimes, you're just carrying fatigue from previous workouts that hasn't fully dissipated.
It's easy to beat ourselves up on those "slug" days, but understanding these variables helps us extend compassion to ourselves. Your body is constantly adapting, recovering, and reacting. I trickle mindfulness exercises into my athletes schedules to help with accepting that not every day is perfect.
The Mind Game: Acknowledging the Inner Critic
Our minds can be our greatest ally or our fiercest opponent. On those days when we feel heavy, our inner critic loves to chime in with discouraging thoughts: "You're weak," "You're losing fitness," "What's the point?" This mental stress can be just as derailing as physical fatigue, sometimes even more so.
Learning to observe these thoughts without judgment, and gently redirecting them, is a powerful skill. It's about recognizing that a bad workout day doesn't define your overall commitment or capability. Journaling is a great way to navigate your feelings and see patterns in how your mood changes throughout your training. It can even be a great way to pick up on when it is time for a “reset week”.
The Unconditional Win: Showing Up is Enough
Here's the most crucial takeaway: Your best will change from moment to moment, day to day, and week to week.
Some days, your "best" will be crushing a personal record.
Other days, your "best" might be just 5 minutes of gentle movement when you desperately wanted to stay on the couch.
And on the "mundane" days, your "best" is simply showing up and consistently doing the work.
All of these are valid, and all of these are wins. The consistency of showing up, adapting to what your body offers, and choosing movement—even when it's tough—is what truly builds lasting health, resilience, and appreciation for your body.
Be Gentle, Be Grateful, Be Present
So, the next time you have one of those "slug" days, or even a "just okay" day, I invite you to:
Be Gentle with Yourself: Don't push through pain or severe fatigue if it means risking injury or burnout. Modify, shorten, or choose active recovery.
Appreciate Your Body: Focus on what your body can do, not what it can't. Be grateful for the ability to move at all.
Love Every Moment: Even the mundane and challenging moments are part of your journey. They build character, teach resilience, and make the "invincible" days feel even sweeter.
Embrace the Gift: Every day you wake up with the opportunity to move, breathe, and experience life is a gift. Let your exercise be a celebration of that.
Embrace the highs, learn from the lows, and celebrate every single effort in between. This is your journey, and it's perfectly imperfect.