The week before last, I had started a new workout program called #mbf (Muscle Burns Fat). It’s a great new program that focuses on weight training to build muscle and burn fat. It’s just what I was looking for but my only concern was that it was a higher level of fitness than my body was ready for, because I am pretty out of shape, at least compared to what I used to be. It turns out I was right. I woke up day 3, not quite feeling right, and I had to pause the program to wait for my doctor to give me the “okay” for to work out that vigorously. I’d gone through a ridiculous amount of almost constant, intense stress over about a 2-year period previously, and even though I’ve been doing much better when it comes to that, I have some leftover palpitations, so my doctor wanted to run a few tests before he felt comfortable telling me I could work out that hard. I was sad because #mbf really is a fun workout and I felt like it’s exactly what I needed to meet my fitness goals, but it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry.
So, I took last week off from working out. I had some bloodwork done, and thankfully that all came back normal, and I also did a 48-hour Holter monitor. I’m still waiting on the results of that. Finally, I go for an echocardiogram tomorrow morning, and the results of those two tests will determine how vigorous of a workout I’m able to do. If I’m unable to restart #mbf right away, it’ll be okay, because thankfully Beachbody has plenty of workout programs designed for a wide variety of fitness levels, so I can just try some at the beginner level rather than trying to jump to intermediate.
The important thing to take away from this is that it’s okay to stop a program once you start. If your body is telling you to stop, it’s important to listen, especially if you know that you’re potentially working above your fitness level. There IS such a thing as overtraining, and you can really do some damage if you don’t back off when you should… the important thing is don’t stop completely. Keep working out… just choose a program that is less intense and make the ability to do a more intense program your goal!
So, with that said, I’ve decided to start the 3-Week Yoga Retreat program! Yoga is low-impact, relaxing, and it helps to build strength and balance. This program is a beginner-level program and a great way for me to safely continue to exercise while I wait for the results of my cardiac testing.
Stay tuned, as I will be reviewing the Yoga program the same way that I was doing with #mbf, with my feelings before and after the workouts. Thanks for reading!
April 🙂