Even Superheros Need Rest!

Im no superhero. BUT! Rest is surely needed.

I took a whole week off from training. Yes! Voluntarily! I havent done that in all of my 9 years of training. So why do it now? Its not like i got tired or burnt out from working out. It was more coming from a place of wanting to take care of my body first and foremost. 

Things I would always worry about when considering taking time off: 

• Weight gain- Further from the truth! I was able to rest more or sleep longer- 7.5 hrs +- and noticed my cravings subsided, my weight went down, I felt incredible! I kept the same calories as if i was training btw.
• Lose them gains- AHEM! most of our gains are done at rest. SOOOO the more you rest the more gains you will make. Just taking the time to sleep longer will make a world of difference.
• I wont come back- Yea when you voluntarily take a week off from training, even though you kinda dont want to, your really lighting a fire under your ass! You will come back with a vengeance and a desire to hit it hard when you return.
• Performance will suffer- Again with the rest and getting in some solid sack time you will be recovered enough to perform at your best upon your return; given that you hydrated properly as always, slept longer, ate properly as if you were still training.

I really took this time off to help my body heal of some minor nagging injuries cause i want to put in all i got and stop subbing out movements. 

Hope this helps you guys understand the importance of REST and RECOVERY. 

Lumbar Tightness & Low Back Pain

So recently I experienced low back pain- lumbar pain around L1-L5 of spine- which was felt when bending over to pick something up or any hip hinging exercises. Even heavy squatting, front or back squats, were off limits for at least 2 weeks. What the hell?? Even simply sitting with lumbar support was a bit annoying. I thought for sure it was my hammies and glutes being too tight causing this chain reaction in my back because I rarely foam rolled them. Turns out it was my Psoas muscles. The Psoas Muscles job is to flex the hip (ie, Kettlebell swings, toes to bar and sit ups). When walking  the muscle helps you to pick up your leg when you go to take a step. I also took into consideration it may have had something to do with those hip flexors. But those were the legit reason for my low back pain. It wasn't super painful just 4- out of 10 and again only when i bent over. I'm driving to work and though hmmmm I have been pretty tight right under my left rib cage and its still tight...what if i dig in a little and clear that tenderness out....and BAM! I can bend over without pain. YES!!! i love when i can figure this shit out. Thankfully it wasn't an injury per-se, just a little muscle tightness. I'll be taking it easy on the exercise today, mobilize that Psoas muscle afterwards and rest this weekend. When Monday hits....I will be ready!!!

HERE is a video to help with mobilizing those muscles