If you are reading this… you’ve probably had a bad workout and don’t ‘t know what to do. Well, this is for you!
So recently, I had a bad workout. I ran really slow and didn’t hit any of the times I wanted to hit. While usually, I am a pretty positive and optimistic person, I found myself really beating myself up about how practice went.
I started thinking about all the things outside of my routine that I probably should have done differently to run faster. If I want to qualify for the Olympics then I shouldn’t be allowed to have a slow day or in my case a “bad” day. All and all, I turned myself into a Domonique punching bag. No Bueno.
While we are all not Olympic training athletes and most of us are badasses who love to workout and get those endorphins flowing! We all have days where our workouts don’t give us that same rush that we crave. Some days we leave more tired than we came in.
To be honest, that’s completely okay. We aren’t robots or machines that are designed to function at an optimal and high performing level every second of every day. There are going to be days where your body just wants to do something different. Focus maybe not so much on forceful output but the quality and enjoyment of movement.
I am sure you have felt this before, once you begin to negatively spiral, it’s hard to come back up and bring yourself into the right mindset. So, I want to share with you guys 3 things I try to remember on “bad” workout day. In an effort to help ease some of your frustration.
You are more than your body’s energy output
It’s easy to associate ourselves strictly with the numbers our bodies can produce. That could be how fast we can run, jump, throw, cycle, or even climb. At the end of the day, you are a living breathing human that needs rest. These days sometimes it’s best to focus on form or even just the sheer enjoyment of exercise.
One bad day doesn’t negate all your other GOOD day
In the end, progress is still progress. the path to reach any of our goals has never been linear. So it’s super important that we remember that one bad day doesn’t make us bad. It also doesn’t halt our progress. We still learn and grow from the days we aren’t doing as well. I had to remind myself that a couple of times the other day. So remember you are still on the right path and still doing great work.
Redirect that Energy
Whenever I have one of my bad workout days, honestly, I feel so frustrated and annoyed. What has helped me and something that I still work on all the time is redirecting that frustration. I am nowhere near perfect and I fail at redirecting probably 60% of the time haha (real talk, I’m not perfect). However, when I am successful the redirection of frustration is a powerful thing. It is taking the frustration of not doing your best one day and using that energy to do better the next time.
If you are reading this then you probably had a bad workout or maybe even a bad day and I just want to remind you that having a bad day, or having a bad workout doesn’t define who you are as a person at all. It is what you do with that energy, what you do with those emotions and feelings that end up defining your character.
So let’s give ourselves a hug, a nice little high five, and have a better workout next time!
You are awesome,
Domonique
