RECOVER LIKE YOU MEAN IT

Recovery Is Part of the Plan - Not Something to Feel Guilty About

We talk a lot about doing more. Train more. Walk more. Meal prep. Hit your protein. Drink your water. Get your steps. Be productive. Be a good mum, partner, employee, boss, friend, daughter... 

And somewhere in amongst all of that we're also supposed to: “Reduce stress.”

Cool. I'll pop that on the to-do list. 😂

Here's something I want more women to understand, particularly through perimenopause:

Recovery isn't what you do when you've finished doing all the important stuff. Recovery IS important stuff.

You might not be able to get away with what you used to

One of the things I hear all the time is:

“But I've always done this.”

I've always survived on six hours sleep. I've always trained five days a week. I've always been able to work all day and keep going at night. I've always been the one who does everything. And maybe you did get away with it before. But perimenopause can change the equation.

Hormonal changes can affect sleep, mood and temperature regulation, while the general demands of midlife aren't exactly insignificant either. Work. Kids. Ageing parents. Relationships. Training. Life. Your capacity isn't unlimited. Sometimes your body starts sending increasingly loud signals that the current arrangement isn't working anymore. That doesn't mean you've suddenly become weak or lazy. It just might mean something needs to change.

Recovery doesn't mean doing nothing

Recovery can look like:

Going to bed instead of watching another episode.

Eating enough to support your training.

Taking an easier training day.

Going for a walk.

Having a quiet coffee by yourself.

Putting your phone away.

Leaving some blank space in your calendar.

Saying no.

And sometimes, yes... to doing absolutely nothing.

Recovery isn't always bubble baths and massages.

Sometimes it's simply not asking more from yourself when you're already running on empty.

Also, can we please stop feeling guilty about it?

Often even when we do stop, we're often not actually resting.

We're sitting down thinking:

I should be doing the washing.

I should go for a walk.

I should answer those emails.

I haven't done enough.

So technically your body is sitting on the couch… but your brain is still running laps.

A lot of women have spent decades measuring their value by how much they can get done and how many people they can look after. Rest can feel like something that needs to be earned. It doesn't. You don't need to completely exhaust yourself before you're allowed to recover. And you don't need to justify an hour that exists purely because you need it.

Recovery helps you make progress too

This matters from a training perspective. Training is the stimulus. Recovery is when your body gets the opportunity to adapt to that stimulus. If you're strength training, trying to build muscle or improve fitness, constantly piling more stress onto an under-recovered body isn't necessarily going to get you there faster.

Training. Nutrition. Sleep. Recovery.

They work together.

Taking a rest day isn't “ruining your progress”. Sometimes it's part of what allows you to make progress.

On the subject of sleep...

Sleep can become noticeably more difficult during perimenopause. Some women struggle to fall asleep. Some wake repeatedly. Some wake hot. Some wake at 3am with a brain that's suddenly decided now is the ideal time to review every problem they've ever had. And poor sleep doesn't stay neatly contained to nighttime. It can affect your energy, mood, appetite, training, recovery and how capable you feel of dealing with everything else the next day.

We can't guarantee eight perfect hours every night. But we can create conditions that give sleep a better chance. That's why today's free resource is my Better Sleep Guide - practical things you can actually work on rather than another person simply telling you: “You should get more sleep.” Thanks. Super helpful. 😂

→ GET YOUR BETTER SLEEP GUIDE

Maybe you don't need to try harder

When things aren't going well, your first response doesn't always need to be: “I need to try harder.”

Maybe you need more sleep.

Maybe you need to eat properly.

Maybe you need an easier day.

Maybe you need to say no.

Maybe you need some time where nobody needs anything from you.

Perhaps most importantly:

Can you give yourself that without feeling guilty about it?

Looking after Future You isn't only about what you can add. Sometimes it's about knowing when to stop.

Recovery isn't a reward. It's part of the plan.

Kate x

This information is general education only and isn't individual medical advice. Persistent or significant sleep problems, fatigue or other symptoms are worth discussing with your GP or an appropriately qualified health professional.