May is Mental Health Month, so all month long here at MMW, I’ll be touching on some of the mental health aspects of wellness.

There are a lot of fitness bloggers out there who do a great job at providing us with some amazing programs and helping individuals with their specific training goals. There are even more resources for exercise and diet in interweb land. I fully support using the wealth of information we can easily access via pocket robot. Why else am I here? #amiright

Interestingly enough, there seem to be more and more conversations centered around who is doing/eating what, why, and how. How does so-and-so make it work, do they like it? Is said program difficult, painful, or time intensive? And what I actually hear from all these conversations is confusion. There is a lot of information coming from lots of different places and we are trying to sort it all out. While having the correct (and I stress correct as in factual) information is important, we are spending too much time with the noise. We have lost, or possibly just forgotten, how to listen to our own intuition.

Intuition. The gut. The proverbial angel on the shoulder. That inner voice that should be guiding us. It used to be that leisure and recreational sports were activities we chose because we liked them and wanted to engage in them, both for the benefit of our bodies and minds. With the advent of so much information, I wonder if we haven’t overloaded, pushing ourselves too hard or too long simply because it’s working for a friend. Or maybe we are jumping from craze to craze without stopping to question what our body truly needs.

We all need to move our bodies. That much the research agrees on. The other thing we need to do is to listen to our bodies. Vigorous workouts are awesome and will bring about changes in both ability and aesthetics. But moderate workouts have their place as well. A place for our mental health to get a boost, while our physical bodies can stretch their abilities without fear of abuse or injury. And rest. Sometimes that is what is needed more than anything else. A body (or mind) that isn’t properly rested isn’t able to work as efficiently or effectively.

All those plans are out there and exist for a reason. Most of us, myself included, sometimes need help getting started. Or maybe we have been doing something for so long we have forgotten what other options are out there and need to be reminded. But with workouts, as with life, sometimes too much of a plan isn’t a good thing.

We need to be listening to what our physical bodies are telling us. And, yes, the mental fortitude to push through a tough workout is important, but so is the mental compassion to say I need something else more today. Just as it takes practice to develop the motivation to push ourselves, it takes practice to listen to our bodies and respond with the care they deserve.

We need to remember that what matters most is that we ARE moving. A heavy leg workout will come around again. If your body is telling you it isn’t quite feeling it today, skip over it and take a walk or do some yoga instead. Try it again soon. My guess is that you’ll feel better mentally and have more efficient workouts when you do choose to push.

Until next time, be well friends!