Every[BODY] Needs Time To Recover
Our bodies can withstand lot of physical and mental stress, but there is always a threshold. A level that we must understand and respect, so we don’t burn ourselves out.
Growing up I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in a lot of sports activities and have an active lifestyle. Through these activities and adventures, I managed to put my body through a lot of stress. Whether I was testing the limits as an adrenaline junkie or just plain being silly, I can shamelessly admit that over the past 20+ years, I’ve had my fair share of days where I can barely move my body.
The various stresses ultimately either lead to injuries that could have been avoided or my body starting to physically tell me to stop treating it like crap. But of course, my stubborn self barely listened until it was too late.
The past few years, I’ve been on my way back into a dedicated fitness regime. I started out on my own, without any professional advice. I tried my best to get a run in here and there and some physical activity through pick up sports. Running allowed me to relieve some of my stress from the day and a 30-minute break on a stationary treadmill seemed like a good enough exercise.
During all this time, I paid zero attention to all the things that were part of my workout, from the surroundings to the act of exercising itself. I didn’t care to think about whether my shoes were right for the running I was doing, whether I should be stretching properly before and after my run, whether I was giving my muscles enough time to heal before my next activity and more!
Fast forward to winter of 2016, I’m on vacation in Northwestern India, 5 days before New Year’s Eve, and my daring self gets on a motorcycle thinking, “I got this, it looks so easy.” The only small problem, I don’t know how to ride motorcycles. Within a 60 second span, I crashed. It must have been a sight to see since the whole neighbourhood heard and came out to see what had happened. On an embarrassment scale of 1–10, I was probably at a 12. Heck, I’m still trying to convince myself that it wasn’t such a bad crash until I look at my injuries. A severely bloody knee, a scratched-up hand, a bruised head, and a sore lower back to name a few.
I still had another week left of my vacation and we were about to go on a road trip. So how does one make sure your injuries heal in time before you have to hop on a 15 hours flight back home? Rest it correct? I wish someone had drilled that response in my head because I did the exact opposite of that.
Over the next few days, I continued to move around, use the wrong medication to treat my injuries, resulting in an infection and being careless with my healing process.
A few weeks later, I’m back home and I think, it’s been a while since my injury and it doesn’t seem to be healing right. Naturally, after seeing a doctor, I get told, I need to let it rest — a.k.a I can’t move or bend my knee for 2 months. I didn’t need to be reminded twice about the importance of letting your body rest and heal. TWO WHOLE MONTHS, in the middle of winter, it was one of the hardest things I had to do. I’m far from careful and to have to be mindful of every step I made seemed like the hardest task on earth — but I managed and overtime, my injuries healed.
Jumping into 2018, I started a planned out fitness routine through a group trainer my friend and I met through Instagram — Beverley Cheng (handle: @beverleycheng). The warm-ups and specific muscle focused exercises helped me identify that my hips lacked flexible movement. This could be for a lot of reasons, from sitting at a desk all day long to not stretching properly to possible stiffness from my injuries. Beverly recommended I go see a physiotherapist. She was kind enough to introduce me to her own therapist and boy was that one of the best uses of my benefits!
Not only did my physiotherapist Jared listen to my history, but he also helped me understand my body better. What muscle groups do what, how to properly stretch, how to unwind and relax my muscles, and most importantly when to know that I must stop and let my body heal.
Patience has never been a virtue that I’ve mastered, but this physio process has helped me work through my need to constantly rush things and slow it down to appreciate the work I’m putting into my body.
Not only did my physio process helped me open my hip and shoulder movement, but it also helped me fix my slouchy posture!
This year, I also got introduced to gym called BOLO (Body Love) through a friend and currently a BOLO trainer, Jay Agustin (handle: @wallstfitness). BOLO has allowed me to learn about new ways to keep active and have fun while doing so. While I still enjoy a day at the gym on my own or with a trainer, BOLO classes have allowed me to explore other ways to get my body moving. In fact, I think I’ve fallen in love with boxing and animal flow!
I had always struggled with hip flexibility and core strength. Both these activities have allowed me to conquer those goals and work my way up.
This past year, I’ve seen the biggest growth in my body. I’ve learned that being fit isn’t just about lifting weights to look strong. Being fit requires a lot of things, from having a strong body with mixed fitness routines to having strong willpower and being strong enough to admit when to dial back.
Just recently I broke my toe and with the flashbacks to my previous injuries, I knew that I couldn’t push myself. Though I was annoyed at myself for not being able to do a lot of the leg exercises, I knew better than to push myself or else I wouldn’t heal properly. I was patient and treated my body right, and within a month I was back!
We aren’t competing against anyone but ourselves. To see results, must to be patient and enjoy the process. As for me, I’m still working on the later part.
My fitness journey has allowed me to meet a lot of amazing trainers who have shared some great pieces of advice with me. My top five are:
- Slow it down. We aren’t in a race to finish first or lift the heaviest. Let the process guide you and focus on your form to avoid further injuries.
- Appreciate the work. You put a lot of effort into your workout, so enjoy the process. No one expects you to do 10 exercises in an hour. Even if you do 4, do a damn well job of it and be proud of what you’ve accomplished.
- Stretch it out. Your body needs to be ready for and feel relaxed after a strenuous workout. Do it a favour and prepare it for the work ahead.
- Mix it up. Change up your routines. We all love going to the gym every day but doing the same things can get boring. Try new ways to get your exercise. Take a boxing class, go on a hike, do yoga, play a sport or more!
- TAKE A BREAK! Let your body get the downtime it deserves. Being on the go and exerting yourself isn’t going to get you the results you need, and it certainly won’t get them to you fast. Take it day-by-day and it’s okay to take a day or more off to just rest.
