I put out this poll out on my Instagram last month after a lousy lifting sesh.
To my surprise, 62% of you favoured a bad workout over no workout.
It seems more people than I thought buy into the saying of ‘You never regret a workout’ (unless you hurt yourself).
But that’s a very hard sell when you’re lying on the sofa half awake knowing that you’ve got a 10K run to do today…
In this situation, It’s so easy to convince yourself that skipping this workout will be ‘good for recovery’. I’ve done this a lot.
But it’s often tricky to tell whether going out for an uncertainly bad workout is a better decision than staying in for certainly good recovery. That’s because a bad workout sometimes turns into a good workout a few Ks or reps in, but it’s hard to tell.
Why a ‘bad workout’ might be your best bet
Discipline and consistency are these invisible forces that keep you progressing, regardless of how you feel. Think of it like being in the sea, feeling that invisible current taking you out to sea without effort.
If you’re the type of person that struggles to string together a solid streak of weeks of workouts, going out for a ‘bad workout’ may just help you maintain momentum.
Sure it won’t be pretty, and if you’re feeling sore, you can take a hall pass and cut the session shorter in terms of reps or distance. But most common scenario is you warm to the session and get into your proverbial and literal stride.
But for the times you’re genuinely ill or injured in some way, taking an extra rest day becomes more favourable.
When ‘no workout’ is more beneficial
I’ll keep this short – if you’re working through a niggle, definitely stop.
Muscular, tendon and ligament pain are very different to general soreness, and take much longer to heal if run on. Play the long game, drop the ego and take time out.
Bonus one. What doesn’t fit into this bad/no workout categorisation is wanting to skip a workout because you feel generally burned out. In the short term, you would benefit from taking the ‘no workout’ option. But in the long term, you should probably cut down on volume to focus on quality over quantity.
Workout of the Week
Runners’ Full Body Strength Builder 💪
| # | Exercise | Sets x Reps |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barbell Deadlift | 3 x 8-10 |
| 2 | Box Jumps | 4 x 5 |
| 3 | Reverse Lunges | 3 x 10-15 |
| 4 | Dumbbell Chest Press | 3 x 8-10 |
| 5 | Seated Cable Row | 3 x 8-10 |
| 6 | Standing Calf Raises | 2 x 15-20 |
Notes:
- Hips back! Feel free to use a kettlebell or hex bar
- Land straight legs.
- Knee to ground.
- Feel free to switch to barbell, incline or chest machine
- Wider grip handle
- Make it harder by doing single leg
🐶 Paws for a min
trying and failing to exercise restraint with my marathon appetite
