Hooray for Saturday!!…………RIGHT??

So how many of you were just overjoyed at the arrival of Saturday when you woke up this morning? Or afternoon in some cases! 😉 

I was full of the joys of spring when I woke up this morning! (Which is appropriate I guess) 🙂 Now you’re probably wondering………Why would I be so excited to simply be waking up on a Saturday? You no doubt think I must have a day of breakfast in bed, followed by a trip out paintballing with all my friends with some Go karting lined up after and an evening session at an all you can eat buffet! Rounded off of course by a night out clubbing!

As much as I’d love to enthral you with a day containing more action in 12 hours than most people savour every year, I hate to break it to you, but this wasn’t the case. Nor was it simply the old fashioned, yet slightly corny “I’m just thankful to be alive!” cliche! P.S. You should be thankful for being alive EVERYDAY! (That should be customary in your appreciation life locker) 🙂

So why was I sooooo STOKED For the arrival of Saturday??!! Well the answer is probably a slight anti-climax compared to what you may have been awaiting, what plans did I have for today that were so life enhancing? So enthusiasm enriching? So purposeful? So soul stimulating?

NOTHING

That’s right, NOTHING! No plans, no social activities, no necessary tasks, no commitments, nobody to answer to. NOTHING in the purest sense of the word!

So why the excitement?

Well after a week of hard work, hard workouts (I’m following a strict full body workout routine), counting my nutrients precisely (essential to achieve my physical goals) and fulfilling all other weekly commitments I have, I allowed myself some down time! Oh no! You can’t have any down time! You need to have that boot on the pedal as hard as you can 24/7 right? Surely right?

NO

That’s right, I said it. No. You see I used to believe wholeheartedly in that approach, I based my entire life around it! I worked out 7 days a week, no rest days, multiple times per day going as “balls out” or “balls to the wall” as I could and believe me, it got me down from 25% bodyfat to 8% bodyfat in merely months! Hard work sure pays off! But at what cost? Was I happy? Could I relax? Where were my hormones? Could my nutrition support such volume?

We both know the answer……..of course not!

So what happened? I ended up sleepless with soft muscles, irritable, riddled with joint pain and a deep set dread of whatever my next workout happened to be. In some cases I actually felt SICK at the idea of training/working out!

So after some close family advising me to take some days away (I had to research the meaning of that sentence at the time) I stubbornly took their advice! I put working out on the back foot for a while and during this period, I was mentally climbing the walls! I was like a toddler with ADHD in a straight jacket! All kinds of INSANE thoughts swirled around in my strained brain………..”I’m going to wake up fat tomorrow!” “I’m cheating myself!” “I’m being a sissy” “damn, I need to man up!” You name it, I thought it!

So did I wake up fat the next day? Again, we both know the answer………….NOT AT ALL. What did happen then? Well simply, I started to sleep better, feel better and actually gradually started looking forward to getting back in action!

THE TIME OFF DID ME THE WORLD OF GOOD

They always say the best way to learn is the hardest way and that sure rung true with me! So from then on, I learned the invaluable value of “unwind time” and I make it a staple to allow myself some regularly just to cleanse the mind, body, spirit and soul.

TODAY WAS ONE OF THOSE DAYS

It was a day where I didn’t track my food, didn’t log any workouts, didn’t live to any schedule…………..nothing! What does this do for me? Simple! It resets my motivation to do it all again better, harder, fuller, and with more purpose next week! So allow me to encourage you to ask yourself…………….

WHEN DID YOU LAST HAVE SOME “DOWN TIME”?

If you can’t recall when, then allow me to encourage you to take some inspiration from my harsh learning curve and simply allow yourself some time to CHILL!

I promise it will rejuvinate everything about your goals, schedule, commitments and attitude to life. I PROMISE!

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on the other side!

Wolfsta.