Getting after it when you feel gotten....

What do you do when your tank is empty but your spirits are high and firing?

I find myself in this situation far too often. My body is down and out, sore and broken, done and dusted....but I still have the burning urge to get after it in the gym. Is it good to get in there and muscle it out or should you listen to your body and rest it up?

I look at it two ways....

Firstly, for the larger proportion of folks, the effort they are putting into the gym may feel maximal but is more often than not quite sub-maximal. I saw a tweet by Ryan Fischer the other day saying "You're soft because.... you think your workout was a 9/10 when it was really a 4/10". Now i'm not calling anyone soft per-say but this does have significant grounding. Most people simply aren't putting enough intensity into their sessions to induce this "unable to move" state, so from this standpoint its hard to argue getting back on the horse and getting after it.

Secondly, on the other side of this two headed coin, is likely the appropriate answer. Listen to your body! Your body isn't sore for sh!ts and giggles, it's reacting to an outward stimulus that has caused structural damage. The increase in Hydrogen ions in the muscle tissue decreases your blood pH causing you to get sore and have DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). To counter act this you must do two things. Firstly, as stated above, rest and recover by listening to your body. Don't go ham at the local barbell bar, just relax and recover.....But, that also does't mean sit and stew. To flush the H+ Ions out you gotta replace them with oxygen. Best way to do that is via walks or light biking. The movement will help regulate blood pH and return your muscles to equilibrium.

A study by Brad Schoenfield discussed the utility of going to the gym and performing only warm-up sets. The results showed no further damage to the muscle but increase in recovery. The same principle of 'waking up' the muscles or flushing out the H+ Ions takes place with performing warm-up sets in the gym with weights. So if the urge to hit the local iron paradise is real, then there is warrant for it if done appropriately.

So I suppose, as many things in science and sport do, the answer lies in the middle. But regardless of your choice, listen to your body...it knows best.

JB