This newsletter has said it before, and it is worth repeating: rest is vitally important! It is important for you, your body and your brain; in terms of recovery as well as growth. Without rest, it is a short path to burnout  mentally and physically. 

Work and workouts cause the body stress. In the short term this is good for us. Short term stress prompts change as the body adapts to the stressor and the stimulus that it causes.

However, without adequate rest between the stressors, whatever they may be, the body goes into shut down mode. Imagine your computer with so many tabs open that the memory gums up and it becomes stupidly slow to do anything, or your phone with loads of apps running at the same time. Same thing. It grinds to a halt. Your body and brain are similar.

Too much long term stress without adequate rest leads to a whole range of nasties happening, including metabolic syndrome which is a medical definition for a cluster of health problems that put you at risk of cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes and stroke.

Our modern lives can lead us down this path. Work issues, family problems, lack of good nutrition, and more can all contribute to us being constantly on the go and stressed out. Add in trying to get those standard workouts that you always do when you are already time poor and it can be a recipe for unwanted outcomes.

While it is very easy to say take some time out there is a solution.

If you are a regular reader of this newsletter, you will know that there are so many benefits to exercise. And the beauty of exercise is that it all counts and those benefits add up.

The downside, as alluded to earlier, is that trying to do full workouts (especially heavy lifting) when you are time poor and stressed out can be detrimental.

So here’s the solution.

Try to fit your workouts in, but change things up: go lighter; do something different; play around; do shorter workouts; maybe go for a walk instead of a long run; perhaps do a bodyweight workout at home instead of travelling to the gym. 

In the short term, you’ll not damage any physique goals you may have, and you’ll still be getting the awesome benefits of exercise, which in turn will help you combat the other stressors in your life. Hopefully once the other stressors have been sorted you can get back on track with your normal workouts.

There is some truth in the old adage that a change is as good as a rest. 

It is always good to know what my clients are feeling and how they perceive their current state of body and mind. It is one of the questions that is always asked at the start of a session. And my online clients can’t escape either with weekly check-ins. That way the workouts can be kept on course or cut back to help the client manage their stress levels, while still working towards their health and fitness goals.

If you’d like some help with managing your stress levels while wanting to get fitter, leaner, stronger and healthier, please do get in touch. I want to help, and would love to hear from you.