DESERVED 1 WEEK BREAK FROM TRAINING
After the Martial Arts competition, I decided to take one week off at the end of July. I spend most of the time working on my Blog. The week went super fast, and I realized that during this time, I had just touched the surface of the things I wanted to do…
AFTER THE BREAK…
The first week after a break from training was connected with a huge muscle soreness every single day. I barely could walk. I haven’t got that much pain since a long time. Despite the burn, I felt rested and with energy. The only concern of mine was the things I wanted to do apart from training. In around two and a half months, I was going to travel out of China. I wanted to finish writing my Blog. But, it was an impossible task if I was supposed to train fully.
I didn’t know what to do. I felt guilty about reducing my training schedule. But, the other part of me knew what needed to be done. The moment I stopped worrying and judging myself and thought deeply about what I really felt to do. I realized that I was tired of training as hard as before and didn’t want it anymore. One week’s break wasn’t enough for my body to fully recover.
Consequently, I decided to make some cuts in my training schedule. The first class I resigned from was QiNa. I never liked QiNa. Already, during the last few weeks, I was doing stretching instead. Now, I had time to work or rest.
A BIG SURPRISE AFTER REDUCING MY TRAINING TIME
TUESDAY MORNING, 1ST WEEK OF AUGUST, 10TH MONTH OF TRAINING
I was surprised how much taking a break, and reducing training hours, influenced my performance. The feeling of being well-rested was amazing. Being sleepy, without energy, and trying my best without results wasn’t the case anymore. Finally, I could give my 100%. On this day, I even stayed after the class to train aerial (a cartwheel without hands) – a difficult jump, which I tried to learn for six months.
Before running to the mats, I thought: “Basia, you are safe. Nothing can bad happen. If you fell down, it’s okay. You can always support yourself with your hands. So, have fun. Give full power without overthinking.”
I DID IT !!!
There was nobody in the training hall but me, master Du and the kids. I was screaming and jumping because something impossible had happened. Master Du smiled at me. He saw it! The person I wanted the most to see it saw it !!!
Although I had done it at that moment, I couldn’t repeat it in the following classes. So, I was still training it. But now I knew it was possible, and I remembered the feeling. “I run fast, and there was no stop between running, jumping, and swinging the right leg. I landed… surprised because there was no effort in landing, and I didn’t use my hands. It was perfect timing with enough power and speed. And I was not tense. I was actually relaxed but powerful”.
IT FELT GOOD TO GIVE MYSELF
MORE BREAK FROM TRAINING
I was still thinking about my blog and how to combine training and work. I had to resign from more classes than only QiNa. My final decision was made. At the end of the second week of August, I resigned from Tai Chi classes. I still went to morning Tai Chi.
Nevertheless, I didn’t do Tai Chi. This time was reserved for me and whatever I felt to do at that moment. Mostly stretching and relaxing my muscles.
The changes weren’t over. In the next week, I still was unsatisfied with my schedule. I had maybe more energy, but not enough to work after the training. Immediately, I realized I needed to skip more classes. I decided to resign from one Master Du class every day. Thus, my own training wasn’t there anymore, and the schedule was as follows.
That meant, right now, I was training only around 3.5 to 4 hours a day, instead of 6-7 hours. That was enough. Surprisingly, I still had muscle soreness, and I felt tired. But, my body had time to recover. I didn’t push myself anymore. During power training, instead of climbing the mountain or training in the sports hall, I was going to the lake with the Mantis group – lazy ones 🙂 Yes, I ran 40 min to get there and come back, but it was enjoyable.
I could see that it is not always good to train as much as possible. Train for what? If you feel all the time tired and without energy. You do the forms or jumps, but you cannot do them properly or improve because there is no power left. Instead of getting better, your performance decreases. How unmotivating is that?
Giving my body a break from training was a good decision. Probably I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t have to work. But, I am grateful to make this decision. It improved my mood, attitude, and most importantly I enjoyed training again. It felt almost like during holidays.
CONCLUSION
We need breaks to keep improving. Changes are equally important. Otherwise, your effort will be for nothing and you will only get frustrated.
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.
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