Happy New Year, my friend!!! Seriously, if you are one of the handful of people who read my blog- well, golly, you mean the world to me. And I am so grateful for YOU!
As we enter the New Year, I feel superrr dialed in on what my motivation is for 2021. As a sports dietitian and a running coach, I am always trying to figure out how to deliver my message.
There are so many running coaches, nutrition 'experts' and fitness professionals out there helping you to PUSH harder, sign up for Team No Days Off, and up the intensity.
That's awesome. As athletes (yes, I consider you to be an athlete) we need that intensity to build more muscle, to increase speed, to improve endurance.
But here's the thing....
In order to get better, stronger, fitter, faster -- we need STRESS but we also need REST.
Think about it, every speed workout, heavy lifting session, long run is the equivalent to cutting little tears into your muscles. If you had a cut on your hand, would you facilitate healing but poking it with a knife everyday? (Sorry for the gross visual...) or would you wrap it up, give it time without agitation to heal?
Team NO DAYS OFF is missing the bigger picture. We need STRESS plus REST for growth (muscle growth, athletic growth, etc).
So... yes, we need stress. We need the stress of a training plan, of progressive overload, of speedwork. But we also need rest.
And this is where I come in. I'm a running coach and a dietitian, but I want 2021 to be the year that I claim my place in the equation with helping you with the "REST." Cause your crazy work schedule, your 'burning the candle at both ends' attitude, your inability to set boundaries.... they're causing your life to look a little somethin' like this:
stress (from training) + stress (from life) + stress (from improperly fueling) + stress (from lack of self care) = burnout, injury, adrenal fatigue, amenorrhea, exhaustion
Do I love the thrill of a hard workout? Do I love to set goals and CRUSH them? Heck yeah. I'm an athlete just like you. But I started running 20 years ago, so while I'm only 32, I've had a lot of time to burnout, to fill my plate with stress and zero rest... I've had time to experience how horrible it feels to burn out.
So in 2021, it's my goal to be a retreat from the "DO OR DIE" attitude that is soo pervasive in the running world.
In 2021, I want you to know that I am your go-to gal for recovery, rest, mindset and visualization. And we are going to commit to that practice together at 4:30pm est on Thursdays in my Free Facebook Community.
Not because I don't believe in hard work, a good sweat session, a totally draining but empowering workout... but because I think that too many of us are short on sleep, short on kind self-talk, short on rest, short on permission to set boundaries... and that's LIMITING YOU. I want to EMPOWER YOU!
Let's do this thing. See ya Thursday, my friend!