Trainer talk: Intuition key when working out
Bryce Bowman
- Bryce Bowman is a personal trainer at Miramont Lifestyle Fitness in Fort Collins. Contact him at bbowman@miramontlifestyle.com.
Learning to listen to our body takes practice, trial and error. There are times we think we know what our body needs, and we’re wrong. There are other times where we ignore what our body is telling us because we don’t want to pass up an opportunity to work toward our goal.
Intuition training has nothing to do with our level of motivation. Being less or more motivated does not change our physical ability or recovery time. Sure, motivation drives us to accomplish more than we normally would, but the potential was there all along.
Learning what our body is telling us takes a lot of practice. For most people, it takes a year or two to develop the self-awareness necessary to know when to push and when to back off. However, basic intuition should be pretty straightforward.
If my ankles are sore, I don’t train my calves or run, because I know that will only irritate them further. If my muscles are still sore from two days ago, I know I can’t work them again until they fully recover. This messes with my routine and changes my workouts, but making those changes is necessary to be injury-free and continue making progress.
I am able to help my clients adapt their workouts on a day-to-day basis. Many of them are 40 and older and suffer from back, knee or shoulder problems. Being able to adapt their workouts, depending on how they are feeling that day, is crucial. I am able to use their intuition and my knowledge of the body to decipher what we need do that day.
Where many go wrong is that they think when they don’t feel like working out, they should take the day off. But, if most people only worked out when they were motivated, they’d only workout one month a year: January.
The best way to adapt to those low-motivation days is to shorten the workout. That doesn’t mean the workout is easier, just shorter. Rather than going for 60 to 90 minutes, I might only work out for 45 minutes. I’ll still be accomplishing enough to get some results, but I am not allowing myself to get out of my routine. And from experience, staying on a routine is key to staying motivated. Take a week off and see how hard it is to come back.
Intuition training isn’t just about knowing when to back off, it’s also about knowing when to push harder. If my body feels up to a challenge, that is the perfect time to push the envelope and break through any plateaus I might be feeling. Using my intuition allows me to know when to push and when to pull within my workout regime.
“God gave us all amazing potential, but it is up to us to make that potential a reality.”
For a free consultation or questions you can contact Bryce via email: bbowman@ miramontlifestyle.com.
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20140201/COLUMNISTS181/302010066/Trainer-talk-Intuition-key-when-working-out?nclick_check=1
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