Guilt from cutting back?

[L Sass]

I know I exercise too much. I'd been doing resistance and cardio everyday - about an hour of each. And I know that much cardio can cut into muscle growth and consequently can slow weight loss. I've recently made a very concerted effort to cut back on my cardio, but I feel so guilty - even though I know I'm doing a good thing. Has anyone else done this - encountered this silly guilty feeling? And if so, how did you get past it? TIA

Lorrie


Pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever
Candace Grasso, CC-V-6

 

[Sekcy_Gymnast]

I've cut back from cardio because I'm into muscle building and too much cardio will interfere with that. I have gymnatics 3 to 4 days a week for 4 hours, and then would do more cardio later on. It's hard I know, but I did it, just think aobut the muscle you wanna build. Why kill yourself doin cardio when iz not what you want for results. Do what you and your body both want. I hope this helps. I know I'm just a kid, but trust me, I went through it too.

Good Luck,

~Adri;-)
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[sparrow]

Hey Lorrie!

I've totally had that feeling and still wrestle with it. What works for me is to apply the same dedication and energy I give to exercise to keeping it in check, so that not going overboard becomes part of my fitness goal. If I know I'm doing too much I say, "tomorrow no cardio, my body will do better with rest" and THAT becomes my fitness goal, rather than the cardio. It also helps to keep busy with other stuff, like laundry or the garden or errands.

HTH!

Sparrow


Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow - what a ride!’ — Peter Sage

 

[SRP]

Yes, always keep in mind that rest is as important as exercise. I have weak tendons, which I didn't realize until recently, when I upped my fitness goals. I've had to cut back and seriously reconsider my workout schedule in order to keep my various joints and tendons in working order.

So one thing you might consider is your future: it's probably better to moderate your routine a bit now so that you can continue to do it longer, instead of "crashing and burning" a few years down the road.

 

[gogigi]

School starts tomorrow (very hectic schedule and very stressful at various times of the year) and I will have family in from out of the country for about 8 or 9 days at the end of Aug. The last couple of years, I have let sticking to my rotation stress me out or cause me to miss out on other opportunites. I'm all for planning workouts so I will be sure to do them, and am contemplating waking up at 4:30 a.m. to make sure I get it in. My problem is, I usually, no matter how tired I am, get my second wind at night and cannot fall asleep early enough so that I walk around tired, cranky, and stressed (I have done the 4:30 a.m. routine in the past). My approach this year is to make a rotation, but not plug in days and dates. When my body or schedule dictates a rest day, I hope to take it without guilt and pick up the next day where I left off in my rotation. Also, I will make it a priority to workout on the third day (whether that means 4:30 a.m. or 10 p.m.) if I have not been able to workout two days in a row. I used to workout M-S with Sunday being my rest day but I'm going to give this approach a try for the first nine weeks of school then evaluate and see if it's working for me. I know that my goals are a little bit different from yours...but I know what you mean about feeling guilty or like your not getting it "all" in. Good luck to you!
Angela:7

 

[L Sass]

and that's what it is Angela - feeling that I'm not getting it "all" in. I do schedule rest days, but on those days when I work out I have this driving belief that I HAVE to do both strength and cardio or the day has been wasted. In reality I know that if I do that much cardio I can be wasting the gains in the muscle arena - so I have to learn how to re-focus. It's just that getting over that guilty hurdle of not doing it all everytime I work out is the tough part. Like today I did PS legs and abs and headed over to the treadmill as soon as I was done. I had to consciously force myself not to do cardio and I feel that I've done nothing today because I didn't do both components. It's silly I know. Glad to know others share the same issue.

Lorrie

Pain is temporary - quitting lasts forever
Candace Grasso, CC-V-6