I like to play. That statement may be an obvious one to those who know me, I love it. I love a good workout in the gym or park, running or riding trails, a good kickboxing session, you know….the fun stuff. I love adventure so I thoroughly enjoy a good hike or some time spent on the disc golf course, but I admit that those don’t appeal to me nearly as much as the faster things I listed first. Honestly, I could do those things every day….if my body let me. I used to or pretty close to it, especially when I was competing in high school and college sports. I decided that I wouldn’t be outworked, so I trained all the time. And I trained hard. I worked through injuries or came back from them sooner than expected when a surgery or a cast was involved. I’m older and I like to think wiser now, but man it’s hard for me to ease up. Some of that is simply because I like to play and, let’s be honest, some is that old mental “work harder” thing. I don’t know why so I can’t explain it, but I love it. I love to hate it even. I’ve learned, though, that that isn’t the best way to train. That “no days off” thing is stupid! It’s funny because I’ve preached the importance of rest and even forced it on athletes I coached, but did not abide by that with my own body….until I had to.
Inflammation! Chronic inflammation to be specific. I’ve learned some stuff on that topic. Inflammation is meant to be a good thing. It’s physiologically meant to protect and defend us but it can wreak all kinds of havoc on us too. I’ve felt it in my own body although I know I ignored it most of my life, not realizing what was actually happening. But as I have worked hard to overcome a brain injury and live a normal life, I’ve become very aware of its detriments. With this whole brain injury thing still playing an ugly role in my life, it just seems like a constant battle to try like hell to get things straight in my body. It effects everything! Well, seeing as how the brain controls everything, a brain injury will negatively impact lots of stuff. In trying so hard to find answers, I realized just how damaging chronic inflammation can be. I know what it does to my body and I’ve seen what it can do to others, many of whom are people I love dearly. Which makes it very hard to watch. Ya see, chronic inflammation can be the cause of disease…..heart disease, diabetes, some cancers. It can be a major player in anxiety, depression and even some anger disorders. It can cause diseases that kill you pure and simple. It starts as a means of defense and protection to heal the body from trauma and unwanted invaders, but can turn chronic, which can turn deadly. That’s the extreme end of it, I know. It can just make you feel like shit and keep you from being able to do the things you want to do or be the person you want to be. So what’s my point about this “no days off” rant? No days off means no time to let the natural inflammatory response from hard training subside. It means your muscles never have time to heal, which is growth. Inflammation is brought on by stress. Exercise, as good as it is for you, is a stressor. You can’t become better, faster, stronger if you never give yourself time to heal and grow. And if you have lots of other stress in your life, maybe a nagging injury, or you’re one of the many athletes out there facing underlying health issues, you are bringing that much more inflammation to the game and expecting your body to just sweep it out the door like yesterday’s dust pile. I have news for you, it won’t sweep out the door….regardless of how tough you are. Inflammation is the beast that will drop even the strongest. Listen to your body. Do what it asks you to do. Rest when you need to…when you feel horribly fatigued, you can’t shake that little nagging illness, you can’t sleep well at night or you have parts that just don’t seem to ever feel good. Yes, there are days that you push through. That’s normal. But, when you really listen, your intuition will tell you when you need to ease up, rest and even eat a bit more. Don’t get all freaked over that part now. Another hard thing I’ve learned is that chronic inflammation will cause your body to hang on to fat as a form of defense regardless of how much you are NOT eating compared to how much you ARE burning. It’s not always as simple as calories in vs calories out…..but that’s another post. So for now, play, move, groove, enjoy the endorphins that flow from a good dose of moving but rest when it’s called for, my friends. You’ll move that much better afterwards.
Defiance Training Corp 