I was chatting with a co-worker about how destructive a bad workout can be and what causes them. I know bad workouts are inevitable and theoretically motivate you to make your next workout better. But sometimes when I have a bad workout, I get psyched out — instead of just psyched — for my next one. I avoid the treadmill because I don’t want to experience what I did last time — when I have a bad workout, it’s like this crushing feeling that lasts all day. I mope around the office, feel extra guilty about any snacks I eat and wish that I could have a day do-over. I’m not sure why I let them get to me so much, since I’ve had them before and I’ve always bounced back and been fine.
Still, I hate them. In an effort to stop them from happening, I did a little Google research and found a few websites with insight as to why they happen and how to avoid them. I’d like to pretend that reading the sites was like one epiphany after another, but it was all pretty common sense…get enough sleep, get enough rest in between workouts, eat healthy foods and don’t drink/smoke.
So I guess there’s no lesson to be learned here, other than there will be crappy workouts no matter what you do to avoid them, but you’ll get through them. It’s amazing that I know this, yet they still creep inside my brain and rattle me every time they happen.
