What A Week Of Wellness Really Looks Like

Field Notes 003 - missing supplements, skipping workouts, and sleeping in are all par the course.

Saturday, May 10, 2:00 PM

I’m getting my last lift in before I take a week off. Deload weeks are crucial to maintaining the gains and overall physical well-being. A standard deload week doesn’t mean you’re sedentary for seven days. Instead, it looks like choosing a walk and yoga, or some low-intensity bodyweight circuits over heavy strength training or other high-intensity work. Staying away from the latter for a week every six to eight weeks helps avoid overtraining syndrome—a nasty condition that pops up when the stress of training surpasses your ability to recover. This leads to a drop in performance, excessive fatigue, mood changes, bradycardia, anxiety, and a whole host of issues.

I can feel the creep of doing too much during this lift. I’m not as strong as I typically am this week, and it doesn’t feel like a run-of-the-mill off day. It’s a bit more systemic than that, if that makes any sense. I’m still learning how to articulate how I feel in my body and what it means to translate that to someone else.

Sunday, May 11, 4:00 PM

Oh, yeah. I was right about my body being at its limit. Most of my wellness protocols went out the window today. In between TikTok scroll sessions, I ordered brunch and caught up on Law & Order: SVU—my fave binge watch these days.

Monday, May 12, 7:00 PM

I felt much better today. I took a four-mile walk on the treadmill because I slept in instead of getting outside for a run before it got too hot. This morning, I stuck to my routine and protocols pretty well. I hit all the markers I set for myself daily. I also had tea on the balcony, a delicious smoothie for breakfast, and I cleaned my apartment FINALLY. (It’s been like two weeks, which is very unusual for me, and another indicator of burnout.)

Smoothie Recipe: