Ever have a BAD workout?

[Goldenrod]

I've been wanting to ask this for a while...

For the people who exercise -- regardless of whether you do only cardio, only strength training, or a combination of both -- do you ever have a bad workout? I'm not talking about the rare, once-in-a-while day, when your heart's just not in it, and you might actually have been better off *not* working out. (Or am I the only one who has those? )

I'm talking about a workout that makes you question WHY you're doing it at all.

Anyone who's read a few of my posts knows that I'm a regular exerciser, and have been for years, long before I started low carbing. I do cardio and weights, and I really do enjoy it, if not for weight loss, then for all the other health benefits and positive mental/emotional effects I feel I get from it.

That being said, every now and then--and it *is* rare, but it *does* happen--I have a day when working out really brings me down. What happens is, let's say it's a cardio day. I only walk now, but I was a runner for years in the past. I would be running, and instead of feeling strong, and healthy, and muscular, like I *usually* do while running, all I'd be able to think about was how I could feel my saddlebags jiggling. How I could *see* the fat on my upper arms jiggling as I moved. Isn't that ridiculous? I was RUNNING, and all I could think about was how fat I was, and what the heck was the point?!

I had a workout like that today. Today was upper body lifting, not cardio, but it was the same kind of thing. I was doing some shoulder exercises in front of a mirror, and I could see the upper arm jiggle hanging down!! GRR! Thinking logically, I *know* this is stupid. I know it takes a while to see results, and even on one of these "bad days," somewhere in the back of my mind I know I'm doing the right thing, even if the bad self esteem monster is temporarily rearing its ugly head.

I guess I'm just feeling extremely frustrated. It comes and goes. Most times, when I exercise, I look at myself, and I'm really proud of how strong and healthy I am. And I *love* the "glow" I get on my face during and after...I already don't look my age, and that makes me look even younger! It's just, the shape of my body is SO FAR from accurately reflecting the amount of emotional energy I devote to thinking about and wishing for the body I'd really like. And yes, I'm well aware that all the wishing and hoping in the world can't make it happen. That's why I do the work, too. The past two weeks, I've made some big changes in how I work out, so I'm hoping that will help. Heaven knows what I've been doing for ages before this doesn't seem to be moving mountains.

Truly...sometimes I think if I devoted the same amount of mental energy to writing that I devote to food, nutrition, and exercise, I'd have already finished three novels. It's pretty depressing.

Sorry everyone. Just needed to vent. I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow. Today was just "one of those days."

-Amy

[KINDERHORE]

It a journey. To tell you the truth...the only "bad" workout I have is when I'm in a time crunch and I have to quit after 20 minutes or so and don't get the endorphin thing going. It's great for relaxing for me and better for helping me sleep.

[FloridaShell]

Oh, I thought they were all bad!!

Just kidding.

Sometimes I feel like I over do it.

[sugarless4life]

Amy I think everyone has "those" days. I know I do.

Lately I've had alot of them as I sit here recovering from foot surgery. Surgery for a toe problem that may not have been CAUSED by running, but certainly exacerbated by 7,000 training miles. The pain of the surgery and the recovery has made me question over and over why I ever took up running in the first place.

I mean, I LOVE TO RUN, no question. And I can't ever imagine NOT RUNNING. But when your body protests to the point you're sidelined for a while, you begin to question the sanity of all. IS IT REALLY WORTH IT IF I END UP UNABLE TO RUN BECAUSE OF INJURY? Well of course it is. Because running is more than just "exercise" for me now. Its where I find myself, my "GUTS" if you will. I've discovered how really strong, dedicated and determined I REALLY AM WHEN THERE'S A GOAL TO MEET ...

If I had never started running, I wouldn't know I really COULD fulfill a lifetime dream .. of one day crossing an actual "race" finish line ... let alone the hundreds I have crossed since I started running in 2003 ...

I would never have known the THRILL of finishing what few others even dare think about ... A 26.2 MILE MARATHON.

Are there days when my running sucks? YES. Are there days when I say "sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh, my legs felt like lead today" ... YES. Are there days when I think the whole world LAUGHS at the way I plod along? YES.

Does it matter? NO. What matters is, I AM DOING IT. I am a strong, muscular, physically fit woman of 52 who is OUT THERE, rain or shine, heat/humidity or cool wind (we don't get COLD here!) ... Why do I do it? Because I love it.

Nothing else matters when I'm running. Its just me, doing what I love, and caring not if anyone else is impressed.

Yes. Its waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than just a workout. Its ME. Its my destiny. even on my "less than stellar" days.

Betty

[biglosser]

Yes, I have runs like that. My legs feel like they are running through mud and they feel that way the whole run. I get back to the house and feel like I wasted 40 minutes and feel like I didn't get anything out of it.

Vikki

[JRo]

I definitely have days like that. Sometimes you just give it 20 minutes and say "eff this, not feeling it"

I think it's important to listen to your body. When I feel like that I usually know I need to get more sleep/hydration.

[sugarless4life]

When I feel like that I usually know I need to get more sleep/hydration.

And rest.

Never underestimate the value of proper rest/recovery.

Betty

[DizzyUpTheGirl]

I ALWAYS get reallly nauseous after working out...

[Kris T.]

Yep-weekly. I just don't push it on those days.

[ChubbyAFGirl]

I had one of those runs today...but I finished. That is the important part. I felt horrible that my run wasn't great...but I would have felt worse if I gave up and didn't finish. Days like that happen, and the best thing to do is to just keep on moving. (As long as you're not injured)

[realityjunkee]

Yep. Yesterday. I've been battling some sort of food poisoning/stomach issue and have had diarrhea since last Thursday despite many Imodium tablets. (TMI, I know ). Decided to go out for a run yesterday and not only felt like I was running through quick sand, only made it about a mile before the urge hit again. You know how hard it is to walk the mile home with clenched cheeks?

Yep. Bad workout....

[Sharon]

Originally Posted by sugarless4life

I would never have known the THRILL of finishing what few others even dare think about ... A 26.2 MILE MARATHON.

It is quite an thrill, isn't it? Can't explain it to anyone who has not done at least one marathon. It's us "crazies" who do more.

[junkfoodmonkey]

Well last Wednesday I did weight lifting the day after the first spin class I'd done in months, and I think Spinning must have been more work than I was used to as the Wednesday weight lifting session was agony. I had to miss out the leg weights anyway as the spinning also did something to my calf, so I felt like I wished I hadn't bothered coming in. Basically I thought it was going to kill me and I was cursing about how I could have got through the spin class itself okay, but been so wiped out I couldn't work out properly nearly a day and a half later.

I took a few days off, mostly for the bad calf and I feel better now.

[CurlsNCuffs]

I could have written this! Yes, I do feel that way. I look in the mirror and think what is the POINT? I hate seeing and feeling the jiggle too! Discouraging....but, I also think where would that be if I DID NOT do this.

Some work outs are more powerful than others.....I like to believe that I am overall healthier because I do workout.

What doesn't help me is, genetics! Underneath is muscle but, the poor skin elasticity is terrible, I know no amount of exercise will help that. Surgery is the only answer but, not dooable right now for me. So, I keep exercising and wearing the right clothes to hide it. Most folks can't believe I have a 26 year old daughter and I'm a grandmother of 2. But, when I take my clothes off, I look 80! Yikes!

[dae_tona]

Amy-

I had days like that two weeks ago. Of course, I started the BFL program & my body began to look worse-not better. I kept on wondering if it was really worth it. But thanks to a DH who is very supportive and told me that my body knew what it was doing and to leave things alone & not to change anything-I kept at it and started speaking that it was worth it because I'd start seeing change soon enough. So anytime I was at the gym-seeing how much worse I looked-I talked to myself-saying that things will get better & doing these new workouts would be worth the change I would see someday. And once I saw the change-I realized that every workout was worth it.

Do I still have days like that? Let's just put it this way: If I did not arm myself with knowledge of what BFL might do to my body, I would have said 'it's not worth it.' and quit. Why? Because the DH commented this week that I was getting bigger (not fatter-just looking more muscular-that's what he meant by that). I was getting thicker. Fortunately, I read up on BFL and did read that women will get bigger before they get smaller. So it was worth that comment. I just knew that meant that getting smaller was right around the corner. But if I didn't have that knowledge, I would have thought that this new exercise I am doing wasn't worth it & quit.

So-whenever you have one of those not worth it days-make sure you are armed with knowledge of what the program you are following will do for your body. That is one thing that is keeping me going on BFL.

Dyan

[steady]

I think having a bad workout is normal, just be aware it could be a sign of burnout or boredom with your workout. I often get into a mindset that I must run xxx miles to have a good worthwhile workout. After a while, I start to feel workout burnout, but still force myself to run because "it is good for me", I crave the endorphin high, and I have the need to consistently improve on the workout before either by running faster or further. Then while in one of my "forced" runs/workouts, I start feeling like a hamster on a wheel and question why am I running this much? I am not training for a marathon, so 3 miles should be as good as 7 miles, right? So I cut my workout short...that is a bad workout day for me. I feel like a failure for not accomplishing my workout goal for the day, and may even take some time off from working out. However, this is the point I realized that I need to rethink and refocus on why I want to work out and what I want from my workouts so that my heart is once again into working out.

[Houston Heather]

I had a couple of workouts where I nearly blacked out, and one where I did.

I had just donated blood about a week before, working out in a hot garage, and hadn't eaten in a few hours.

Worst workout ever - passing out on my weight bench. Yuck. I immediately took some time off until I felt 100%.

[anniemo]

Originally Posted by Houston Heather

I had a couple of workouts where I nearly blacked out, and one where I did.

I had just donated blood about a week before, working out in a hot garage, and hadn't eaten in a few hours.

Worst workout ever - passing out on my weight bench. Yuck. I immediately took some time off until I felt 100%.

i've had to learn to listen to my body. i've realized that bad workout mindset for me is usually my body telling me to slow down. i've been feeling under the weather the last couple of days and tried my morning yoga and my body was having non of it. i could barely get through one sun salutation. so, i decided to relax in corpse pose instead of pushing my body someplace it didn't want to be. do i feel guilty about this - NO. i believe that guilt is toxic. yoga has taught me a wonderful balance between pushing my whole self to places i never thought i could go and having an awareness of when i'm not well enough to do it. if your heart, mind, and body aren't working in tandem you can expose yourself to injury. just like my woe my entire wol is centered around mindfulness and every day is part of a journey to free myself from the constant toxic nonsense that we repeat in our heads. bad days happen. releasing those bad days is in your hands.

[sugarless4life]

Originally Posted by anniemo

i've had to learn to listen to my body. i've realized that bad workout mindset for me is usually my body telling me to slow down. i've been feeling under the weather the last couple of days and tried my morning yoga and my body was having non of it. i could barely get through one sun salutation. so, i decided to relax in corpse pose instead of pushing my body someplace it didn't want to be. do i feel guilty about this - NO. i believe that guilt is toxic. yoga has taught me a wonderful balance between pushing my whole self to places i never thought i could go and having an awareness of when i'm not well enough to do it. if your heart, mind, and body aren't working in tandem you can expose yourself to injury. just like my woe my entire wol is centered around mindfulness and every day is part of a journey to free myself from the constant toxic nonsense that we repeat in our heads. bad days happen. releasing those bad days is in your hands.

WOW, well said, Annie!

Betty

[LouieLouie2007]

I crashed on my bike during my triathlon Sunday, does that count?

[Goldenrod]

Originally Posted by dae_tona

So anytime I was at the gym-seeing how much worse I looked-I talked to myself-saying that things will get better & doing these new workouts would be worth the change I would see someday. And once I saw the change-I realized that every workout was worth it.
Fortunately, I read up on BFL and did read that women will get bigger before they get smaller. So it was worth that comment. I just knew that meant that getting smaller was right around the corner. But if I didn't have that knowledge, I would have thought that this new exercise I am doing wasn't worth it & quit.

Thanks, Dyan. (And everyone else!) I needed to hear this.

I would never quit working out. I do enjoy it, and I know it keeps me healthy, strong, and fit. It was just one of those days. I think I need to remember that it sometimes does get worse before it gets better.

Someone said something a few days ago about looking more jiggly, even though she was doing all the right things. Lots of people said that often happens -- the body is kind of reconstituting itself, moving the fat around, getting rid of it, and it can take some time for the outside shape to look better. Here's hoping that's what's going on with me.

I've been lifting for a while now, but the most fun I ever had with it was while I was in Iraq -- I was one of only a handful of women at the gym who had the guts to work out right alongside the bigger guys in the weight area, and I got my share of encouraging comments.

[anniemo]

i bet you got your share of encouraging comments!!!

[dae_tona]

Amy-that was me that spoke about things getting more jiggly & finally getting better.

If you keep on doing all the righrs thing, eventually,you will get all the right results.

Dyan

[JerseyGirl1969]

It's not your workout, it's your head and hormones.

BTDT, yes.

[oobladee]

I'd guess once or twice ever. Far and away, most times just getting my body there to the task may have been hard, but once there, i will get into it all very quickly.

I am a blessed person; seriously I don't miss workout out of laziness, it's a schedule thing that may get in the way. And 9/10 times i will get some kind of thing in or double up another day.

But when I do get the lazies, I trick myself into "I'll go and do a shortie". Like I said, only about 2 or 3x historically did that actually happen. I can honestly say that once I'm there, the sun comes out and the birdies sing for me! My estimate is out of the past 9200 days of my life I estimated to have worked out any length of time, I had 2-3 crappy workouts where probably I should have stayed home.

[kbeth]

Sometimes.
On those days when I am doing the "what's the point" thing..I drag out the before pictures. I have only lost 10-15 lbs since those photos (IN bra and panties, they were really awful. I can't believe I had the nerve to take them) but the enormous difference I see in my body is through exercising. Not alot of lbs gone, but alot of muscle added has made a huge difference.
Then I remember what the point is!!
That, and the wonderful endorphins!