The hardest thing for me to do is to slow down and put my health first. Take breaks when they are needed, and know that rest day is the most important day of the workout plan.

Whether it’s cycles or training, I just want to go full bore constantly. To the best of my knowledge, all the weight room injuries I’ve ever had were from overtraining, whether it’s tendinitis or tendinopathy or whatever. Simply because I don’t want to stop.

I’m ending a cycle and going into a health phase and taking 2 full days off from the gym to give my bicep and forearm some time to recover because they have been particularly sore for a couple weeks or more now. 2 days is a long time for me. It’s actually more mentally taxing than I thought it would be.

I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been overweight and unfit for most of my life or because the gym is my happy place but I feel like I’m going to lose a tremendous amount of progress even though I know in my head that 2 days off will only make me healthier and allow me to recover. And a good cruise dose will give my organs a much needed break and help prevent or at least minimize any muscle loss.

All of this is objectively a healthy and wise choice and the likelihood of losing any significant progress is slim to none and my brain knows that, but I’m still always at ends with myself.

Wanting to check bloods constantly to convince myself to get back on, convincing myself that I can go lift just keep the weight light, convincing myself that if I slow down at all I’ll lose every ounce of muscle and gain all that old weight back practically overnight. It’s all bs but it’s like a little weight lifting devil on my shoulder with a loaded pin ready to go is just whispering in my ear constantly.

I also know I will need much longer than just 2 days off to get my bicep and forearm back to 100% and that my cardio needs work. Treadmills and stationary bikes are so boring but I’ve got a membership at a place that does MMA and BJJ and that’s been the best cardio for me and it’s fun in general.

Getting better and progressing and seeing and feeling and learning new techniques in a new world of MMA/BJJ has been a source of personal growth that has been bringing a lot of happiness and satisfaction to me lately. I get more winded and sweaty and beat up but it’s oddly satisfying.

Anyways I guess I’m just rambling with no real point other than to say that it’s ok to slow down, health is not always easy to prioritize, and learning new skills can help you achieve other goals when you need to take a short break from what has been you biggest source of happiness for a long time.

Idk if I’m posting this for me or if someone else needed to hear this, too, but I felt prompted to share that new chapter of my own personal journey for some reason I don’t fully understand.

I hope you all are out there kicking ass and taking names and making leaps and bounds towards whatever personal goals you may have.

Much love - No08