Listen To Your Body!
By Dawn Fernandez, IFBB Figure Pro
I recently pushed myself beyond
my regular regimen and although this may initially sound like an achievement, it wasn’t. I’ve learned over the years that it’s important to give our mind and body a break from constant activity to allow them to regroup, rest and rejuvenate. In fact, our bodies will usually send us messages that unfortunately we ignore.
In my case I noticed that my workouts were beginning to lack quality and that I wasn’t able to lift as much. I was beginning to be irritable and started feeling achy all the time even though I wasn’t ill. One of my coaches at posing practice pointed out that my upper back was tense. He recommended I get a massage and get stretched. It was about that time that I also realized I hadn’t taken a break from my intense workout program in over 10 weeks. So, I took some time off from the gym, got a massage and got stretched.
My first day back felt incredible and I was able to increase my lifts anywhere from 5-10 lbs. If I’d listened to my body and given it the break it needed earlier, I could have avoided the disappointment and discomfort that I experienced. Fortunately for me, it was just a matter of giving my body a rest. However sometimes our bodies speak to us and try to warn us of far greater ailments.
It’s always a good idea to check in with your doctor or get a professional opinion anytime something doesn’t feel right, you are lacking in energy to complete daily activities, you experience pain, numbness, feel unusual, moody or depressed, etc. Listening to our bodies means taking time out of our day to focus on ourselves.
You get one bo
dy per lifetime. Treating it well and keeping it well maintained is critical to your overall health. Some of us take better care of our cars and homes than we do ourselves. When the car engine is making a funny noise, you take it to the mechanic. When the faucet in the kitchen leaks, you fix it. So why when your joints crackle or your chest aches, you don’t go to the doctors or seek professional advice?
Some of you are beginning to understand my point and that’s good. Learn from my example above and realize that when our body is speaking to us, it really is trying to tell us something and that we should listen. And get things checked out at the earliest detection of irregularity so you can avoid or prevent further injury, illness or disease.
If there really is something serious going on it could make a huge difference in prognosis and treatment. Put yourself and your loved ones ahead of the car and house and take that crackle and ache in for a checkup!
Dawn Fernandez is an IFBB Professional Figure athlete, public speaker, workshop facilitator and fitness model. She can be reached at [email protected] and found online at:
http://www.facebook.com/dawnfernandezpro
http://www.twitter.com/dawnfernandezaz
http://instagram.com/dawnfernandezaz
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