I am often asked about working out, and/or attending class when one is injured or ill. When should you take time off? I have spoken about pain working for you. You do too many reps, you use too much weight, you go too many miles and your body tells you, with pain that enough is enough.
This is one level of using pain as a barometer. If you never get through some pain, you never reach new goals. So, it is important to differentiate between pain that lets you know that you are reaching further and making progress, and pain that tells you that you’ve gone too far. If you go far enough to pull, or sprain a muscle, it can take weeks to recuperate. My suggestion is to take yourself past your limits on a regular schedule, but not at every workout. You don’t have to be continuously adding stress to get most of the benefits of your workout.
Once you have an injury, should you take time off. In the martial arts I would recommend a different approach than in most other types of workouts. In the Martial Arts I think it is important to know what you can do in spite of an injury. One of the reasons for Martial training is to be prepared for an emergency. You can’t make excuses when an emergency happens. If you are injured when you need to protect a loved one, you can’t ask the assailant to come back next week!
If you are ill and contagious, you should take time off. If you are not contagious but are running a fever, exercise can be bad for your heart. If you are not contagious and not running a fever, working out may be just what you need to feel better.
So, come on out and work out with us at River of Life!
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