Embracing Stop Signs
For years, it seems the fitness industry has been pushing towards “do more, be more.”
Let’s embrace stop signs instead.
I am training for an endurance event in 2025. Previously, I discussed exercising towards the Zone 2 heart rate and the overall impacts this can have on your daily life. Today, let’s talk about mitochondrial health.
For years, it seems the fitness industry has been pushing towards “do more, be more.”
“Embrace the pain.“
“No pain, no gain.”
“Leave it all out on the dance floor.”
I could keep going.
Dr. Holloszy first introduced the idea of mitochondrial health in fitness in 1967. But it seemed to really enter into the conversation for endurance training in 2021.
So what is it? Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell. (Big thanks to my 9th grade biology teacher, for that memory retention!) Mitochondria create energy, which fuels how our muscles operate. If you were a perfect physical specimen, you would have amazing energy, better endurance, and enhanced recovery.
Let’s go back to that whole “keep going” with exercise. The second you start over exerting yourself, your body cannot keep up. Mitochondria lose power, causing fatigue, inflammation, stress, and injury.
The idea of working out in line with your mitochondrial health is to exercise with stop signs in mind. I’ll give you an example of one workout that I had this week.
“Wear a weighted vest, equal to 20% of my body weight. Step up and down onto a box. Step at a pace that keeps my heart rate in between 65-75% of maximum.
Stop Signs
Beyond minute 10, I feel a burn greater than a 7 on a 1-10 scale.
Beyond minute 10, my cadence drops by 20% of steps per minute.
My heart rate exceeds the 75% maximum.
I hit a maximum of 45 mins.
The goal of this workout is to increase my endurance and ability to hold a weight and climb, without pushing myself to a point where I’m dead. After this workout, I leave the gym each time and I think “I could have probably done more.” And I absolutely do, but just not this week.
So what does that look like over time? The first time I did it, I hit stop signs at 20 minutes. Man, I wanted to ignore the stop signs and keep going. But I didn’t.
The next week, I hit 25 minutes. Week 3, I hit 40 minutes. The last 2 weeks, I’ve been maxing it out and hitting the 45 minutes. Repeating this workout once a week over time, demonstrates that I absolutely can do more each time while maintaining my mitochondrial health.
Now that I can consistently perform the workout without stop signs, I get to create a new challenge. I’m working with my coach on new stop signs, and am looking forward to the challenge and starting over, next week.
The pressure on working out this way, is that in week 1 - I could have ABSOLUTELY kept going and hit the 45 minutes. So I would have hit the goal, at the cost of my health. By resisting going past stop signs, I have a short term pain of thinking “man I could have kept going.” But I receive the longterm benefit of a health, happy body. Ready to do more the next day.
Let’s transition to embracing stop signs in everyday life.
Just as acknowledging and respecting stop signs during exercise promotes our health, similar principles can be applied to our everyday life to enhance overall well-being.
Mindful breaks - it’s tempting to power through your busy life without pausing. Taking a couple pauses throughout the day can be a game changer. How are you feeling right now? Need a drink of water? How about a snack? Need to stretch your muscles? Feel the fresh breeze? Get a change of perspective?
Enjoy that downtime - If you are a driven sort of person, let me say that again - ENJOY! THAT! DOWNTIME! Leave guilt at the door. You did what you needed to do this morning, or this week. Simply enjoy the stillness, the tv show, the book. These moments rejuvenate your ‘mental mitochondria’ which will bring creativity, emotional resilience, and renewed purpose.
Set boundaries - “I will say no to X, so I can say yes to Y.” This allows you to bring your full self to what you choose to say yes to. Meaning you will show up with more energy and fully embrace your life’s journey. Let’s end this cycle of overextending and burnout.
Prioritizing your mitochondrial health in exercise requires a delicate balance of exertion, self-awareness, and rest. All fabulous things we need in our daily lives too. By recognizing and respecting your body’s stop signs, you can boost your overall life’s journey.
What could be more beautiful than that?
Want to discover what stop signs your body is telling you? This is where coaching can help.
Let’s chat!