And Your Body Says Another…
Wicked long blog post title I know. It’s usually the other way around, right? Your body is perfectly willing and capable of doing many things, but your brain, or your mood, isn’t so into it, whatever it may be?
If you follow me over on Instagram, you know that I was super psyched to be able to grip my all time favorite workout buddy, the kettlebell, last month. This was huge because the swelling in my hands has gone down significantly, and the inflammation is slowly leaving my body (it’s not really welcome here so this is a good thing!).
While I was at the gym this weekend, I was having a ‘woe is me’ moment. I couldn’t go all out with my typical high-intensity workout routine, at least not for now, and I haven’t been able to in months because of the pain and fatigue I have been experiencing due to the inflammation that has invaded my body. In my feet ~ Every step I take, I have pain on the bottoms of my feet. In my hands ~ I’m constantly stretching my hands as I’m warming up so I can use the kettlebells, the free weights, the barbell, anything really ~ you use your hands for EVERYTHING! I start my routine with some squats and um, hello, pain in my knees. I just couldn’t win. Typical Jenny would move through the pain and go pretty hard core despite the pain. But Jenny that is dedicated to healing, is trying very hard to listen to my body and rest when I need to rest. I will not lie though, it is wicked hard. Exercise brings me so much joy and contentment, so it’s hard to accept that my body can’t do what it used to, for now. If you know me even a little, you know I am impatient, and it is certainly showing through here. Some days there is less pain, so I have to appreciate those days and strength train then, and know that on my path to healing, I will be able to do this again, it may be different, but I will get there.
Moral of the story is no matter who you are, or what’s going on with you, no matter what your age and ability level in terms of exercise, we have to get better at listening to our bodies. Our body is a really smart machine and knows when we need rest, when we need healing, and when we need movement.
Are you impatient like me? Would you have just kept on going hard even though there’s pain? Or are you really gentle and listen to your body when it’s screaming at you? No matter which path describes you best, it’s you and it’s all good. Get better at knowing who you are, what you need and what brings you joy. It will pay off for sure.
