Train Hard and Go Easy

Are you reading the site Breaking Muscle? If not, you should probably remedy that situation.

Breaking Muscle is updated daily with well-written articles that cover smart training techniques, athlete profiles, and nutrition — along with a wide variety of workouts to try, including yoga, strength training, intervals, and more. In addition to the smart, sassy writing of Managing Editor Becca Borawski, Breaking Muscle delivers guest articles from some of my favorite sporty-spice writers: Krista Scott-Dixon of Stumptuous.com, Tim Huntley of MyAthletic Life, Katie the Wellness Mama, and today… me!

Becca asked me to pull together my thoughts on finding the right proportions of hard work vs. moderate activity vs. rest to share with Breaking Muscle readers. As y’all know, that’s been the focus on my N=1 experiment for the past few months, so I have plenty to say. Here’s a snippet from my article:

I know the temptation can be strong to kick your own ass on a regular basis. I’ve felt the allure of being new to CrossFit, daydreaming about nailing an RX workout, or running with the big dogs who go hard three days on, one day off. I understand the desire to pay penance for an indulgent vacation with “punishment running” to work off the extra calories. I’ve been the girl who worked out for two hours at a stretch in an attempt to get in the The Dress™ for a class reunion.

To be successful, we are not required to turn our training up to eleven every time. For most of us variety, recovery, play, and meditation — alternated with workouts that make us feel like a monster (in that good way) — are vital to build the body we want and to enjoy ourselves while we’re doing it.


Read all of “Train Hard and Go Easy” at BreakingMuscle.com

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Comments

  • melephant says:

    Awesome article Mel. I recently started capping my gym time at about 45 minutes per session, which has been helpful not only from a time management standpoint but from a training standpoint as well.
    Thanks for introducing me to breakingmuscle.com! Another good blog to add to the queue!

    • Mel says:

      Glad you liked the article — and yes, Breaking Muscle is great. TONS of content, so there’s usually something relevant to me.

  • Lynne says:

    Great post Mel 🙂

  • Lydia says:

    Oooo, great site! Adding this to my read list. Thank you for the recommendation and congratulations on the article.

  • Mike says:

    Mel – I found your site today and I’m loving it. 🙂

    I downloaded the free pages of your cookbook and I’m going to make homemade mayo a.s.a.p.

    I fell off the Paleo wagon a few months ago; but, as evidenced by my blog post today, I am at it again.

    Thanks for such great content. I’ll be back for more!

    –Mike

    • Mel says:

      Hi, Mike. Welcome! Glad you found me.

      Homemade mayo is going to blow your mind. Be sure to follow the instructions and don’t use EXTRA-VIRGIN — it will taste yucky.

      Best wishes for getting back on the paleo path. I’m there, too, so we’re all in it together 🙂

  • Lyssa says:

    Congrats, Mel!!! Great article + beautiful pic!

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