Don't use an injury as an excuse

 Yes, you can injure yourself while working out. Beginners make simple mistakes often because their body isn’t used to workouts. They will move right into an aerobics class for more experienced adults and forget to warm-up before class after a few days they end up with a pulled muscle or just sore muscles and they quit going.

I found this post by accident on the AboutHealth.com site. This is worth reading because it’s the biggest reason that people quit their weight loss program.

We’ve all had those weeks where we’ve jammed in long hours on the bike, or hit the trails running, or worked hard in the weight room, and felt fantastic. You’re flying high, improving your numbers and you’re feeling better than ever before. But then, after that big week is over, you notice that you’re sore, your lower back has a bit of twitch in it, and you may even be feeling puffier than usual. You’re not recovered, and it’s costing you those gains that came from your hard work.

While most athletes assume that the time spent in a workout is the hardest part of getting fitter, the act of properly recovering can be harder than the workout itself.

For some people, an hour-long run is an easy task, and recovery is almost immediate. For other people, an hour-long run could leave them sore for a week. How long it takes to recover from a workout largely depends on how difficult or long your workout is compared to your current level of fitness.

But in simple terms, if the workout is within your normal catalog, you’d expect 24–48 hours of recovery needed to do another routine at that same level.

There are three ways you can add recovery into each workout. The first is with your fueling. Proper recovery starts with fueling right and not running the tank too low. If you’ve ever bonked—run out of glycogen stores in your muscles—during rides or runs, you know the terrible feeling of heavy legs, an empty stomach and general crankiness that ensues. The fatigue that comes with the end of a ride or run where you bonked can take a while to overcome, even if you cram your stomach full right after the effort is over. So start your recovery for the ride or run by being properly fueled and hydrated during your workout. I have a bowl of oatmeal before a run or walk and always bring a bottle of water. You could eat any carbs for fuel, sometimes I make a peanut butter sandwich.

The second way to keep recovery moving quickly is to plan your workouts properly. To time your recovery from hard efforts with your rest days and easier days, consider the “standard” schedule that most athletes—from beginner to elite—on training plans follow. “Most training plans use a high-intensity workout, a longer endurance workout, and then a day off to allow for adequate recovery between hard days,” Glassford says. Of course, working with a coach can help you dial in exactly what those workouts should look like, and for triathletes or those training for multiple disciplines, a long ride day might also include a swim workout, so proper planning is even more critical.

Lastly, take time after a workout to do a few minutes of active mobility—such as active isolated flexibility—and deep breathing to calm yourself down and bring you back to a balanced physical state. Simply, do some stretching for 5 or 10 minutes to bring yourself down, get your heart rate back to normal.

You have to plan in rest days but not just completely “sleep all day” type of resting. You want to go about your normal routine. Walking is always good on a rest day, just no speed walking. Stretching is good on a rest day. Just don’t get tired out.

“Generally, moving is going to be better,” Glassford says. “A walk, or a very, very easy spin on the bike, can be helpful in decreasing soreness and getting the blood moving. Many of us feel junky after sitting on the couch all day, so a superlight workout can make us feel fresher and put us on a better road to recovery.”

Sleep is one of the most important factors in proper recovery. When you get your eight hours (you are getting eight hours, right? Right?!), your body works hard to repair all the damage that those sprint intervals did and actually lets your body get the benefits from those workouts. Sleep is when the return to homeostasis really starts to occur, as the body has time to actually recover.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.