When you first begin your workout journey, you will reap nothing but pure strength and gains. This, for a time, will continue to be the case, until the body hits a wall that is…
When this inevitably happens, you will notice a reduction in gains and strength and also increased feelings of fatigue and overall tiredness. This is not necessarily a bad sign and it usually happens to everyone.
That being said, why do these weak days occur? Is it something we are doing wrong? Is it something we are not including in our regime? If you are plagued with wanting to know why these questions, you’ve come to the right place.
In this article, I’m going to cover many questions you may have on these matters. Specifically, in this article, I will go over precisely why these weak days may occur, what you can do to tackle this issue and additionally, how you can prevent this from occurring in the future. Let’s do this!
What are weak days?
As mentioned in the intro, during the start of your workout journey, you will reap nothing but results. However, as time passes and you have grown considerably bigger and stronger, your results will begin to diminish.
This all comes down to the law of diminishing returns and it is an inevitable part of the muscle/strength-building process.
What is also inevitable along your workout journey is the very aspect of having weak days but what are weak days? Generally speaking, weak days are characterised by feelings of fatigue and/or tiredness which typically results in a seeming reduction in strength.
Regardless of how strong-minded you may be, weak days can drastically and negatively impact your ability to perform well when training. So, at this point, you are probably wondering why this may occur, let’s find out.
Why do weak days occur?
To understand exactly how much training/abuse your body can take before it begins to fall apart is a very difficult thing. Because of this, most people who’ve trained for long enough end up breaking their body down faster than it gets repaired. This, in turn, leads to overtraining…
For those of you who don’t know, overtraining is the aspect of training more than your body can handle for extended periods. This condition leads to a wide array of symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, headaches, decreased immunity and feeling weak and unable to train to full intensity.
As you can now see, any weak days you will certainly experience at some point simply comes down to slightly overdoing it.
It is worth noting, overtraining is typically an extension of simply having a weak day or two. An overtrained individual can experience the negative symptoms listed above and more for up to several weeks and/or months.
Having a weak day or two is simply a very small indicator that you are beginning to exceed what your body can actually handle.
What to do if you have a weak day
As you now know, weak days are the warning signs of overtraining. If they are ignored and not respected as what they are, you could find yourself in trouble down the line.
So, given that you will not ignore any weak days and continue working out, here’s what you should do if you have a weak day.
Start by avoiding strenuous exercise. If you are feeling weak and your strength has diminished, this is a very clear sign from the body that rest is needed. By ignoring this, you will place even more stress on the body which can exacerbate your symptoms.
Increase your carbohydrate intake. When you perform strenuous exercise over long periods, you deplete your glycogen stores. Glycogen is a water-based sugar primarily stored in the muscles and is used for fuel. By eating plenty of carbs, you can help replenish your glycogen levels.
Try to rest as much as you can. Listen, the main reason why you may end up having a weak day or two is the result of over-exerting yourself. Essentially, the only real cure for an over-worked body is rest, hence why this should be a priority.
How to prevent weak days
So far, we’ve discussed not only what weak days are and how they are caused but what to do if you have one. What we haven’t yet discussed is how to altogether prevent one from occurring. One thing is certain with this regard, preventing one is a little more tricky…
To effectively prevent yourself from having weak days every single time, you would have to know exactly how much abuse your body can take before it begins to break down. As you might’ve guessed, this is impossible.
That being said, just because we cannot learn the exact amount our body can endure, this doesn’t mean we cannot effectively prevent having weak days altogether.
4 prevention methods
To effectively prevent having weak days again, you must first start by ensuring that you consume enough carbs. Carbs are the preferred source of energy for your body and low amounts of fuel in the body can alone cause weak days.
Secondly, ensure that you are getting enough sleep. Sleep is the foundation for repair and your body completes tasks during sleep that cannot be done whilst awake. Sleeping adequately helps to ensure that you are growing efficiently and effectively.
Thirdly, consume enough protein. When it comes to nutrition, nothing makes the body grow and repair like protein. Because of this, protein is essential if you want to continue growing bigger and stronger.
Lastly, make sure you have rest days when you need them. Listen, you may be extremely motivated and even desperate to achieve your goals but do not overdo it trying to achieve them. This will only reduce your body’s ability to grow which will, in turn, reduce your strength over time.
This point is perhaps the most important one on this list as most people tend to overdo it when striving for their goals, don’t let this be you!