Being Sick

Getting sick isn’t fun. It makes us miss work, social time and training sessions. We all hate feeling useless and that our bodies aren’t cooperating with us. I really hate it, I’m a baby when I’m sick because all I want to do is feel normal.

It makes us appreciate when we’re firing on all cylinders. This winter, I got sick for the first time in a while. I’ve dodged everything the past couple years and been able to keep healthy while everyone else has coughs and runny noses.

Both times happened when I was in a good training groove too. I’m a firm believer that when you are sick, you need to shut it down. Pushing through a workout usually makes it worse.

We need to find an advantage of getting laid up. I’ve got one for you: it’s time for your body to recover. Not just from the cold, but taking several days off from lifting and getting sweaty has it advantages too. I know it’s frustrating and you feel like you’re losing progress, but trust me, in the long run, it’s good for you.

A few days after each of my colds, I hit deadlift PR’s. That time off allowed my body to recharge and recover. I know while reading this it probably feels obvious. But we’ve all been there, feeling useless and lazy because we’re sick and can’t do anything.

If you’ve been fighting some stuff off this year, remember, it’s only temporary. Our bodies are amazingly resilient, you’ll come back stronger than before.

Justin Miner

@justin_miner_

Consistency

It’s hard to stick with something, even when we want to really bad. The problem, is that besides wanting to stick with the new thing, we don’t do anything else to set us up for success.

We say things like, I’m going to start going to the gym more, I’ll eat healthier this week or I’m going to write more blogs. Instead of having steps to accomplish this, we hope it just happens for us.

It’s not going to happen for us. We need to make it happen. If you want to go to the gym more, figure out a way to make yourself go. Maybe it’s writing on your calendar, telling all your friends or your coaches that you’re committed to it.

Here’s the part I struggle with: if you mess up, if you fail, it’s not a big deal.

It should make you mad, maybe a little down on yourself, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop all together. We let that fear of failure get in our way too often, I know I do for sure.

Let’s commit to sticking through things even if we fail. It’s the only way we’ll develop consistency.