While last month we finished up our topic of strong running and building up some key muscles to prevent annoying pains and help improve running speed, the hamstrings definitely need to be addressed. They are such a powerful muscle and many times, under utilized and always blamed for being "tight." Well, life happens fast and I wasn't able to put together a quality informative blog on hamstrings this month, so I promise that will come soon. This month, just some quick facts that need to be brought to the surface:
1. Sleep more!
While it's great to train hard, you don't need to do it all the time. Your body cannot keep up if you are constantly beating it down. There needs to be a high attention placed on recovery! You need to make sure you are getting enough sleep and allowing proper recovery. If you are constantly working hard and not seeing the results you want- try backing down, resting, and recovering. (If you get mad and fight me on this small paragraph, then you are probably guilty of needing some major rest).
2. Hydrate and eat good food
Along with sleep, comes hydration and nutrition. These factors need to be on the top of your radar when you are training and reaching for goals. Lifting heavy or running fast is great and it always feels great to smash your personal records, so keep your attention on making sure you're getting plenty of water and proper nutrition during training. With sleep, water, and proper food intake (not cutting major calories, but eating good food) you'll see your hard work pay off with some huge improvements!
3. Constantly sore muscles don't equal success
You don't have to be sore to judge the success of your training session. Not every session needs to be max effort, or new movements to always elicit muscle confusion. Just because you're not sore after every session, doesn't mean you didn't gain from that workout. Just be proud you did a quality workout and know your body is getting stronger and adapting, you are making progress!
These are facts that need to be stated and understood. You may not want to accept them or say, "I don't need to do ____." But seriously evaluate where you're at... are you seeing results? If not, then stop doing the same thing expecting things will magically start to change. Do something different if you are trying to make change. Apply these three facts and you might just find reaching your goals is easier than you think!
