Go Hard or Go Home?

I have to admit, I’m not one of those people that struggles with being motivated to go to the gym. I’ve been doing it so long now it is as much a part of my daily routine as brushing my teeth. Today was one of those rare occasions that, after I finished my lift, I really just didn’t feel like doing my scheduled cardio afterwards. I could have left the gym and called it a day…and I did consider that. But I decided to suck it up and do it, knowing that if I didn’t I’d be kicking myself later.

This whole experience got me thinking: when do we push through and when do we back off and “go home?” I used to be a total “Go hard or go home” mentality. If I was injured, I would push through. Quitting is for sissies, I thought, and I was no sissy. It took me years of this before I realized that “going hard” when I should have “gone home” was doing my body and my mind NO GOOD.

So today as I was not feeling like finishing my workout I realized that this is the point where discipline really comes in. Do we force ourselves to keep going, to finish what we’ve committed to in our minds? Or do we take the easy way out and say “it’s ok, it’s just one workout, it won’t hurt?” It’s a slippery slope, I believe. Once you give into those feelings of not wanting to do it, you will be more inclined to give in again in the future. Before you know it, you’re not just cutting your workout short, you’re cutting it out altogether.

I definitely do not believe in pushing through when your body is clearly giving you all the signals that it needs to rest. We all know what that really feels like. When we tune into our bodies and really listen, we know when we need the rest more than the workout. And when we’re totally honest with ourselves, we know when we’re making up excuses to get ourselves out of what we don’t feel like doing in the moment.

If your body says stop, then stop. But if your mind says stop - you need to assess the situation. Letting yourself off, is not usually the best idea. Life is full of stuff we don’t feel like doing and for most people, working out (and eating right) is one of those things.

Know when to push on and know when to dial back. And most importantly, be honest with yourself and call yourself out on your own bull. In the end, those “fake excuses” are only hurting you and keeping you from reaching your goals.