Trust the Cycles

I recently celebrated the 12-year milestone for my Fitness First ritual. I have not missed a daily workout for the past 12 years.

Since the start of this 12-year streak, many people have expressed their opinions that this is not a smart idea, because the body needs rest days.

I don’t disagree with the importance of rest days, but what I’ve learned over the past dozen years is that “rest” doesn’t necessarily mean “don’t do anything at all.”

The body is designed to move, and my body needs movement to plug in my brain and get the juices flowing.

That doesn’t mean I go hard every day.

Within the consistency of my daily ritual is variability in the intensity of my workouts. Some days I workout hard, or for a long time, or both. Other days I do the bare minimum of movement.

In fact, some times I scale back the intensity for weeks at a time.

Over the past dozen years, I’ve learned to trust the natural cycles of the practice.

Trust the Cycles

Every ritual or routine has natural cycles: times when they are at peak intensity and times when the intensity lessens.

To sustain anything for the long-term we must honor those cycles.

You don’t have to go hard every day. Sometimes, your bare minimum effort is all that’s needed.

Trust the cycles.