Listen To Your Body
I’m constantly challenging myself to grow. As I’ve shared before, I make sure to add weight or reps to each of my exercises to keep them from getting too easy. And I don’t like to go backwards.
Today I was doing 4 sets of dumbbell bench presses. 10 reps each at a new, higher weight. On my third set, when I hit 8 reps my arm gave out and I faltered for a moment. Normally I would have paused for a split second and then done the other two. But I listened to my body and put the weights down, took the rest period, then went back and did ten on my next set.
Could I have finished that set? Probably, but for what? At the risk of dropping a barbell on myself? I listened to my body, and I was able to come back and finish strong the next set.
Today I didn’t push myself because it wouldn’t have been beneficial. And guess what? There is no shame in that! There are lots of times I don’t want to do an exercise but I do it anyways. Today I didn’t need to finish that set, so I stopped to regroup. Stopping something because you want to is quitting. Stopping because you need to is wisdom.
There are times when you need to listen to your body and stop for a minute in order to finish strong. Obviously there is a balance.
When your body is telling you to be lazy or quit, override that and push through. But if you need to pause, to take a moment to stop, in order to enable yourself to finish well, do it.
And don’t feel bad about it!
Listen to your body, determine if it’s telling you to quit or if it’s just saying to stop for a minute and do what you need to do!
Have a great week!
Today I was doing 4 sets of dumbbell bench presses. 10 reps each at a new, higher weight. On my third set, when I hit 8 reps my arm gave out and I faltered for a moment. Normally I would have paused for a split second and then done the other two. But I listened to my body and put the weights down, took the rest period, then went back and did ten on my next set.
Could I have finished that set? Probably, but for what? At the risk of dropping a barbell on myself? I listened to my body, and I was able to come back and finish strong the next set.
Today I didn’t push myself because it wouldn’t have been beneficial. And guess what? There is no shame in that! There are lots of times I don’t want to do an exercise but I do it anyways. Today I didn’t need to finish that set, so I stopped to regroup. Stopping something because you want to is quitting. Stopping because you need to is wisdom.
There are times when you need to listen to your body and stop for a minute in order to finish strong. Obviously there is a balance.
When your body is telling you to be lazy or quit, override that and push through. But if you need to pause, to take a moment to stop, in order to enable yourself to finish well, do it.
And don’t feel bad about it!
Listen to your body, determine if it’s telling you to quit or if it’s just saying to stop for a minute and do what you need to do!
Have a great week!
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