“Arnold Palmer likes to hold the golf club tightly. You are not Arnold Palmer."
I love this teaching from the legendary golf coach Harvey Penick about how (not) to hold a golf club. He is telling us not to blindly follow exceptional people and that it’s because they are exceptional they can often do things that we can’t.
My mission is to encourage people to be very active throughout life.
This article is however aimed primarily at those who are already very active and who may actually need to apply the brakes from time to time. Those who are just getting going may also find this piece helpful as too much too soon can often result in disheartening levels of fatigue or injury.
Running and cycling are two popular sports where people will often over do it in the pursuit of excellence. Equally gym addicts may try and strength train or do a boot camp every day. The intention to get fitter, stronger, or faster is good but more is not always better. We are not machines and each one of us is unique in terms of what level of exercise is best for our health and to achieve our sporting goals.
Exercise is medicine but you need to find the right dose.
Your optimum amount of exercise is not only determined by your physical capabilities but influenced by other life stressors such as family, work, sleep and nutrition. You need to think carefully about what you can fit in and its impact on the other areas of your life in terms of the residual fatigue that will accumulate. This is never an exact science so your plans need to be flexible.
The more you exercise the better you will know your own body. Listen to it. As we age it’s usual to need more recovery time. I advise erring on the side of too little exercise rather than too much. If you do your exercise in a fresh state you will enjoy it more and be less likely to pick up an injury or adversely impact other areas of your life.
Here are a few of the lessons I have learnt:-
A hard day should be followed by an easy day. If you do a long run then don’t try and do a heavy leg strength session or a fast run the next day. Most pros will tell you that the biggest mistake amateurs make is that they try to go hard all the time which means they are never fresh enough to be at their very best.
Exercise on your own sometimes. Riding and running in groups can be fun but killing yourself to keep up too often can leave you with too much fatigue and be counter productive.
You don’t need to have all the answers. I engage with a multitude of coaches to help me optimise my own activity programme. It costs me more but I consider their advice great value and I get my results quicker leaving me more time for the rest of life.
If you have a late night planned then have a rest day afterwards or an easy session. Lack of sleep is a performance killer.
If you like to race then great, but don’t race too often and, if the race is long or hard give yourself extended recovery time.
During busy times at work reduce your exercise load. Try to get in regular short sharp sessions. Plan key events when you are likely to have less demands on your time.
If you are ill don’t exercise or only exercise lightly if the illness is a head cold. Your body is working hard to make you better and exercise will usually detract from that.
It takes roughly a month to lose strength and endurance. Even your top level fitness will hold for a couple of weeks. So don’t sweat taking a bit of time off - your body will thank you for it and you will be more likely to return with renewed focus and motivation. Living an active life is fantastic but too much exercise can have negative implications.
Don't over train
Over training can suppress the immune system making you more vulnerable to colds and other bugs. If you don’t allow yourself enough recovery time your body, instead of getting stronger and fitter, will get weaker and you will become more injury prone. Instead of getting faster you get slower. Beware the coach or friend that says lift heavier or go faster at every opportunity. I set my cycling coach the challenge that my “training should not negatively impact other parts of my life”. Sometimes I’m prepared to relax this to hit important goals but not often. Planning the ideal exercise schedule is a moving feast and comes with experience.
In my early thirties I was addicted to triathlons and continuously tired. I’m lucky to still be married. At 50 I exercise less than half the amount of hours I did back then but retain a similar level of strength and fitness although my goals are different. If you take a mindful but flexible approach to your exercise it will optimise your health and you will be more likely to achieve any goals that you have.
As you get older start to think about structuring your exercise around recovery so that the exercise energises your life and doesn’t leave you feeling too tired to enjoy it. Even if you can fit in more exercise are you (and your family) sure the opportunity cost is worth it? Thanks for reading.
Phil Jacobs
Phil Jacobs is Founder and Coach at secondHalf Active which promotes superior strength and fitness as the cornerstones of living our best lives over the age of 35. We believe exercise and training looks different for men and women as we age and that injury prevention and recovery have to be at the forefront of our thinking.
For your free PT trial at the SecondHalf Active gym in Harpenden, please call us on 0796163262 or email us at hello@secondhalf.co.uk.
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