Sometimes you just don’t want to work out.
We all have those days, even if you’re a top performance athlete.
Even if you’re not a performance athlete, the American College of Sports Medicine Guideline for physical fitness includes (for adults):
AEROBIC: AT least 30 minutes of large muscle moving activity (Ex. swim/bike/run) 3 days a week, at a moderate to vigorous range. As exercise becomes easier, you’ll want to progress to 5 days a week, and for special populations such as those who are diabetic, obese, hypertensive, or have metabolic syndrome, hitting this 5 day/week benchmark is important to reducing risk for cardiac disease.
RESISTANCE: 2-3 strength training sessions weekly PER MUSCLE GROUP (2 leg days, 2 arm days, or maybe 2 full body days, you get the idea). These can include resistance band workouts, weights, or body weight movements. The general rule of thumb is 48 hours of rest in between each workout per muscle group.
BALANCE: 2 or more days per week is shown to be beneficial. Balance can be its own activity (Ex. practicing walking on a balance beam) or, more commonly, incorporated into other activities such as a single leg squat.
STRETCHING: It is recommended to stretch at least 2-3 days per week, but stretching daily will benefit one the most. Standards for flexibility are less researched, but 20 minutes of activity such as yoga or tai chi has been proven to benefit health.
With these standards, it’s hard to feel like you shouldn’t be working out everyday. When you add the pressure of being a collegiate athlete on top of these benchmarks, it isn’t too long before people may crack under pressure.
Who breaks under pressure?
Preseason was tough! It was hot, we worked hard, for long hours, but we made it! As classes started up and practice hours were more limited, I thought the worst of the season was behind us. After being in the heat for so much of preseason, it was nice to relax in classrooms for most of the day, and spend all of my energy running at practice in cooler weather.
But that wasn’t the same for my whole team. Things started to get messy.
At this point, I was running much faster than I anticipated. During speed workouts (the ones where I didn’t fully indulge in Macaroni Monday beforehand), I was running 800s with the girls who would later secure conference titles for our team. I was quick for once in my life, and I wasn’t the only one to take notice.
On one sunny speed day, I proceeded to pass up a scholarship runner during an 800m run where she had a head start. I was shocked and excited, I felt like I was finally fitting in with the competitors on my team.
And then I passed her the next trail.
And then I passed her the one after that.
And then she quit the team.
I couldn’t help but giggle a little bit. Someone who I wanted to fit in” with so badly had quit running at the NCAA level because I beat her in three 800 meter time trials.
But that’s where mental strength defines athletic performance. You may be the best runner on the course, but if you let your doubts control what happens out there….who knows whats going to happen?
As a club beach volleyball player, my coach scheduled a sports psychologist to come to our practices. What a change it can make in the game! Suddenly you feel like you have control in everything thats happening in your game/race/match. Everything I learned as a high school beach volleyball player was applicable to running. I visualized being fast, I tried to compete with just myself, and progress came with it.
Another one bites the dust
After one teammate quit the team, it was only a matter of time before another one bit the dust. Though this teammate quit a bit differently.
Before I begin the story of my pal, who we’ll call Dan, I just wanted to make a little note that many athletes who are recruited and become college athletes will not play for the entirety of their college career. I am no longer a college athlete as I left my dream of playing NCAA sports to pursue an entirely different dream (hint: it has to do with dolphins!), so there is no shame in leaving a team! However, from a sports psychology standpoint, it is interesting to see how and why people terminate their positions on college rosters and what we can learn from it as athletes/recreational exercisers/people.
So, on that note, back to Dan.
Dan was one of the fastest men on my team. He looked like a runner from the long legs to the skinny, yet somehow muscular stature. Not only did he look the part, he knew it too. Dan was genuinely obsessed with all aspects of running, from knowing the top competition, to studying the pro’s, to knowing the best running gadgets/apparel; he knew it all.
But as September rolled by and our first meet came and went, something had changed.
The men’s race would always happen after the women’s, so by the time I had finished my first race EVER (which I had my own mental block: I was so afraid of falling on the course. But I got over this by slipping in the mud during warm ups. Not enjoyable, but better than slipping during the actual race), the men were just gearing up. The rest of the gals and I took our cool down jog (AKA, make the coaches think you’re running, and then find somewhere out of sight to relax), and then came back for a surprise.
Dan was missing.
I was freaked out, people don’t just go missing on the course. The cross country courses I ran were partially covered in the woods, but it wasn’t like it posed a threat to our safety. I mean theres hundreds of other runners out, if something happened, you’d know. Then I looked around and saw his mom, who did not look remotely concerned, just extremely disappointed.
Minutes passed by, everyone just hanging out at our team campsite, and suddenly Dan walks around the corner. Nobody talks to him, nobody acknowledges him.
Now you’re probably like WTF? What’s his problem? He’s supposed to be a top 5 runner and waltzes to the campsite after the last kid has crossed the finish line.
Well, Dan insisted he was injured. Something about his knee or hip, I don’t remember. But there he was, walking just fine, just in a very bad mood.
After this first race, Dan stuck to riding the bike every other practice to recover. Practice went on, but our coach didn’t seem too concerned about having another runner step up for the top 5.
But then, guess what–
He didn’t finish the next race.
Or the race after that.
By this time it was mid-season, and he didn’t make anymore excuses. Dan was done with running. It happens. After 10 years of competing he quit, he still runs for fun, but had to end his scholarship and caused a shift in the team dynamic.
Dan isn’t/wasn’t mentally weak, wasn’t a quitter, we all have our moments, and sometimes they come at the worst timing. Needing a change is different for everyone. Some people switch from running everyday to doing triathlons, some people switch from yoga to barre classes, and some people quit working out all together (the later I wouldn’t recommend). Its hard to juggle life and fit in exercise, and it can be so difficult to juggle being a college athlete with life, school, finances, and health.
Whether its a mental block, burn out, or just having a bad day, we all have moment where we just don’t to work out. Some days, getting yourself out the door when you don’t want to is exactly what you need, and some days, its best to listen to your body and do some relaxing.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your experiences with bad days working out and changing your goals! I mean look at me, I was originally a volleyball player and here I am living my best life doing [middle] distance running. We all need a change every once in a while!
ALSO: the cover photo for this article is a cute doggo name Jedd, he likes to run…he’s not on the XC team, just a good boy.
Stay tuned for the rest of my series as I dive into the heat of the cross country season, and the drama behind leaving the sport and my school behind.
chillfit 