The Importance of Recovery Week

Ying/Yang Symbol used by Bruce Lee.

The importance of recovery week for our bodies can simply be found in the meaning of the Ying/Yang symbol. I came across this while reading "The Warrior Within" which is a book about how the philosophies of Bruce Lee can help you better understand the world we live in and achieve a more rewarding life. "When Yang reaches it's limit, the movement becomes tranquil, which generates Yin" (Little, 1996).  Bruce Lee interpreted this as Ying/Yang being one inseparable force of one unceasing interplay of movement.  

When I read this I immediately thought of the importance of recovery week for the health of our mind and bodies. We train hard for 8 weeks committing ourselves to intense physical training (Yang). If we simply continued this into a new training cycle we are not allowing for a return (Ying) or the interplay of activity and rest. We are therefore creating an imbalance that will lead to possible overtraining, injury or even mental burnout. Our training hits a maximal point in our eighth week and therefore we need that period of lower intensity where we can shift our focus to recovery. Our recovery week, lower activity, will then lead us to week 1 of training. In doing this we maintain a balance. 

Many of you have come to understand this in your own journey and have come to appreciate this natural ebb and flow.  It has been my experience that those that understand this are the people who maximize their results during a training cycle. They train consistently and have elevated their fitness over the course of their time training with us. If you do not appreciate recovery week maybe look back and check your training journal. Where you consistent? Did you make tangible improvements? Take this information in and see what adjustments are necessary going into the next cycle. If you do not have a training journal you have one immediate adjustment to make! Change requires discipline. It requires balance (Ying/Yang). It does not come to those who do not put forth the effort. Let's take this week to heal and learn and get ready to revitalize our bodies as the spring approaches.

Reference:
Little, J. (1996). The warrior within. McGraw Hill.