stop? slow down? Speed up?

[Shaolinwind]

Good morning! I have a question. In between kung fu, tai chi, and my own practice I basically get in about 2 - 3.5 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm usually never that sore (except the occasional brush burn) and I am having LOTS of fun. Should I force myself to take a day off, cut down on personal practice and keep going to the classes, or can I safely continue as I am?
%think%

ps.. I just realized I asked something similar about 8 months ago, though the situation is different now so I figured it's ok to leave this up.

 

[MJS]

Good morning! I have a question. In between kung fu, tai chi, and my own practice I basically get in about 2 - 3.5 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm usually never that sore (except the occasional brush burn) and I am having LOTS of fun. Should I force myself to take a day off, cut down on personal practice and keep going to the classes, or can I safely continue as I am?
%think%

ps.. I just realized I asked something similar about 8 months ago, though the situation is different now so I figured it's ok to leave this up.

Theres nothing wrong with taking a few days off. Not only will it give your body a rest, but your mind as well. If you didn't want to take time off, you could cut down on the hours that you're training.

Mike

 

[CrankyDragon]

My advice: Slow down, have some days off. Theres nothing wrong with your drive or energy, but you can burn yourself out. Id rather see you in there for the LONG haul, than for the short flash.


Good luck and God bless!
Andrew

 

[Loki]

Gut feeling: Slow down. Too much physical activity leads to overtraining, basically a self-induced flu. I say gut feeling because I don't know exactly what your training consists of and how intense it is, but consult an instructor and know that even 4-5 times a week is highly regarded and makes for quick progress.

 

[arnisador]

The occasional day off is actually helpful, not hirtful!

 

[MA-Caver]

The occasional day off is actually helpful, not hirtful!

I agree definitely that it's not hirtful at all. In fact the only thing that is hirtful is Arny's spelling.











(giggle, snort) :rofl:

 

[arnisador]

Oh come now, they're very close on the keyboard!

I'm forced to use a laptop as my regular machine broke, and I don't like the keys at all.

 

[MA-Caver]

Oh come now, they're very close on the keyboard!

I'm forced to use a laptop as my regular machine broke, and I don't like the keys at all.

One word.... Dragon

 

[Shaolinwind]

I never thought to consult an instructor, I really don't want to sound like I am bragging about myself. Anyhow It's not like I am doing cotton fist 40 times a day on my own time, lol. It's more like some stretches, some breathing, nunchaku/broadsword, light duty stuff so I have plenty of energy for classes. I'm still quite heavy and thus still quite limited.

All that aside, I really HAVE to take a day off to spend time with my wife. It should have been the first thought on my mind rather than how much fun "I'm" having. Gotta take care of my gal!

Gut feeling: Slow down. Too much physical activity leads to overtraining, basically a self-induced flu. I say gut feeling because I don't know exactly what your training consists of and how intense it is, but consult an instructor and know that even 4-5 times a week is highly regarded and makes for quick progress.

 

[Phoenix44]

Rest is part of training, too.

 

[Grenadier]

We get stronger by breaking down muscles and rebuilding them. Having a couple days of rest spaced into that entire week of training really does help speed up recovery.

Having those two days of rest also helps avoid burnout, which can happen to any of us.

 

[Andrew Green]

Depends on what you are doing how much you can train. Soreness is not a good indicator of overdoing it though.

You get stronger / faster when you rest, not when you work out. The work out just tells your body it needs to do some improvements if this is gonna keep happening and puts it off for a more convienient time.

The harder you push things, the more damage you will do that needs repaired before improvements can be made, push too much too often and you will actually go backwards.

Some things you can do everyday without a problem, things that don't push your body too hard. Same way as you can walk every day, but not run till exhaustion.

How much you can do is rather individual and based on your current physical condition.

Taking at least one day rest a week should be a must though, preferably 2.

Overtraining not only prevents improvement, it also increases your risk of injury greatly.

 

[Gin-Gin]

It sounds like everyone has given you good advice; I also believe that giving your body a rest will benefit in the long run.

All that aside, I really HAVE to take a day off to spend time with my wife. It should have been the first thought on my mind rather than how much fun "I'm" having. Gotta take care of my gal!

Smart man!

 

[CrankyDragon]

Just a note from the "Weird Files"... I was sick as **** Edited to conform to MT's Profanity Ruleswith some ungodly virus, out of class for 2 weeks. I was nervous about getting back on the mat, but that ended up being one of my best classes, everything just flowed. My blending was much improved as was my grappling! So, taking a day or two off once in a while cant be all bad!

Andrew

 

[searcher]

It is just like I tell new weightlifters. You do not build muscle or strength while you are working out, it is when you are resting that these come. If you do not give yourself time to recover you will slow your progression. Eventually your muscles will rebel against the training that you are doing, you will start getting sore and stiff. This is the point when you will rip or strain muscles or get injuries that will not go away. If you feel like you need to be doing something on your days off then do some meditation. It works wonders.