The Adjustment Phase

So how am I feeling after my first week? TIRED! haha! 

Yes, I'm exhausted! But I realize that this is part of the process. I haven't been exercising consistently since last summer so I'm out of shape and my body is not used to this much exercise. So naturally there will be an adjustment phase. This is the phase in which many people end up quitting. People get so caught up in feeling too tired and they believe they will continue to feel this way so they quit. To be honest, I don't blame them, if I thought that I would be constantly exhausted due to exercising, then I'd probably quit too. Luckily I have experience with the onset and offset of consistent exercise and I know that this feeling of exhaustion will pass. The timing is different for everyone, but if you continue to be consistent, it will eventually pass. What's amazing is that this exhaustion will be replaced by a feeling of invigoration and energy that you may have never felt before! 

When I'm exercising consistently, I feel so alive and so energetic (like the energizer bunny!), it's almost indescribable! I sleep better, I make better food choices, and I'm in a better mood! The benefits are definitely worth that little bit of achy tiredness at the beginning.

One important thing to note is that whether you are starting up for the first time or returning back to consistent exercise, you must listen to your body! Now, try not to confuse this with listening to that little voice inside your head that wants to stop because they are two very different things. Listening to your body means pushing yourself past your comfort zone, but not so far past that you could injure yourself. In exercise there are two kinds of pain, the good pain that you feel as a result of it, and the bad pain that you feel if you've torn something or injured yourself in some other way. I'm sure you all understand what I'm talking about, it's very intuitive. My little rule of thumb is that when I really want to stop, I do a few more and then I stop. For example, when my legs are really hurting from running and my chest is gasping for air and I really don't want to keep going, I go an extra 5 minutes and then I stop. Or, if I'm dong chest presses and the weight is really starting to feel heavy and my muscles are screaming at me to stop, then I do 2 or 3 more reps and then I stop. You get the gist of what I'm saying. Only you know your own limits so only you can monitor whether you've reached them.

Image Source: Picturesof, Energizer