Exercising is undoubtedly a great habit. Whether it's during a lunch break or after work, a good workout can be invigorating, not only strengthening the body but also releasing the stress from a day's work.
However, some people are extremely hard on themselves:
Even if they've been working overtime and pulling all-nighters until two or three in the morning, they still force themselves to hit the gym the next day, dragging their exhausted bodies along.
And have you noticed:
Many 24-hour gyms are still bustling with people lifting weights late into the night.
There's even a lot of gym marketing on social media that promotes a toxic attitude:
To be frank, this isn't about working hard, it's about courting disaster!
If you often work overtime, stay up late, and eat takeout or fast food, putting your body in a state of nutritional deficiency and fatigue, then what you need most is:
_A good rest.
Exercising Actually Causes Damage to the Body First
Ａfter high-intensity exercise, the muscle fiber cells are disorganized and significantly damaged.
Contrary to what many people think: you don't become bigger and stronger immediately after a workout.
On the contrary, the essence of exercising is to first cause damage to the body, which then prompts the body to compensate. Through a continuous process of 'destruction-balance', muscle strength reaches a new level. This is a spiraling upward process.
Those who are accustomed to working out may have experienced the following:
Right after a workout, you feel utterly exhausted, possibly unable to lift heavy objects or with shaky legs when walking down the stairs (dog head.jpg);
After two days of rest, the soreness in your muscles gradually disappears, and it feels like your strength is gradually returning;
Two days later, when you work out again, the movements that were difficult before seem easier this time;
But if you slack off for a week and then return to the gym, your condition reverts back to where it started. This actually corresponds to the four stages of 'supercompensation' in strength training:
Fatigue Phase - Recovery Phase - Compensation Phase - Regression Phase
Within 1-2 hours after exercise, the body first experiences fatigue, with physiological responses and athletic performance decreasing.
Subsequently, the body's functions and indicators gradually return to normal levels. After about 48 hours, the corresponding athletic performance and indicators will show a state of supercompensation, which is what we refer to as the 'phoenix rising from the ashes'.
As the time effect of a single stimulus passes, generally 3-7 days later, the body will gradually regress to the state before the workout. But if we provide a new stimulus during the 'regression' phase, the body will exhibit performance beyond the original level, thus achieving a new improvement.
This is the so-called 'destructive remodeling'. The principle of sports training is supercompensation, which determines the time you start your next workout – it must be during the supercompensation period to begin the next training session.
If you have a good understanding of fitness knowledge, you might know: You don't have to work out every day; taking a break for a day or two can actually be more effective. The reason is that the body is in the recovery phase after being damaged. However, the recovery phase affects more than just muscle strength.
