Here’s a real life lesson – I had some sort of lurgy last week which meant I missed almost a week of workouts.
Now you might be thinking that when I went back in on Saturday morning I’d notice I’d be a bit weaker…
In fact, I had more energy, was stronger and had actually put on muscle while lying in bed.
Sadly I’m not about to suggest bed rest as an exercise protocol but here’s the thing – recovery is important for your results. So yes, actually getting enough quality rest is crucial for your physical and mental results, especially at midlife.
If you’re struggling to get the results you’re looking for from your training the obvious next step might seem like it’s to do even more…
Only that’s almost certainly not going to work if you’re in your 40s or beyond. In fact, not only will you not get the results, you’ll probably end up going backwards via an injury, fatigue or dropping motivation as all that extra sweating gets you nowhere.
Why? Well as we age our body responds differently to exercise than it did when we were younger, thanks mostly to the natural hormonal changes that take place in our bodies.
We tend to have less Human Growth Hormone and lower sex hormone levels, meaning reduced muscle mass and strength, longer recovery times, increased body fat.
Our metabolism slows, so actually if we’re not getting results and we are training well, the first place to look is diet.
Am I getting the right amount of calories for my body goals?
Am I getting the right proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and healthy fats?
Am I timing those right?
Am I ensuring I’m cutting back on processed foods and sugars?
Next check your training. Are you balancing fat burning and metabolism boosting HIIT and/or cardio with resistance sessions to boost those hormone levels and keep your metabolism high?
If you are, are you doing things in the optimum order?
Are you getting sufficient recovery between workouts to avoid overloading the central nervous system and your muscles?
Are you optimising your fuelling around your workouts to increase fat burning, boost protein synthesis and using carbohydrates to suppress cortisol?
All these things matter, and as we age, they matter more.
We’re not talking massive adjustments, and once you’ve got your head around it, it’s actually quite simple.
It could be the results you’re looking for are within very close reach with a few tweaks, applying some science and some more rest.
Or maybe some bed rest…
I’d love to hear what your current workout programme looks like each week – drop it in comments 🙂