The Workout I Should Have Skipped— Week 10

Last week I strained my back doing something extremely intelligent. I ignored every signal my body was sending me.

Hey {{first name | reader}},

It’s Tuesday, which means your weekly fitness check-in. Welcome to Week 10.

Full disclosure: I skipped training Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Why?

Because last week really sucked.

Some weeks just don’t go well. Sleep gets weird. Meals get erratic. Stress creeps in. Things start sliding downhill.

Sometimes a workout fixes that.

Sometimes it doesn’t.

Last week was the second kind.

It started with some bad news on Monday. Sleep was off all week. Eating was inconsistent. By Thursday I showed up at the gym mostly because habit dragged me there.

I should have listened to the other voice.

I felt off from the warm-up. Squats felt strange.That slightly unstable feeling where the bar suddenly weighs 30% more than it should. 

I kept going. Deadlifts felt worse. I powered through.

If you’ve trained long enough, you’ve probably ignored that same warning signal at least once.

On the walk home my back seized up.

That’s usually a sign the body has filed a formal complaint.

Fortunately, a few days of rest solved the problem. But it was a useful reminder.

Sometimes the correct training decision is not training.

Some days everything clicks.

Weights move smoothly. Cardio feels strangely cooperative. Your body behaves like a well-tuned machine and you briefly wonder if you’ve unlocked a new evolutionary stage.

Other days…

The same weights feel heavier. Your legs feel suspiciously reluctant. Your energy has disappeared without leaving a forwarding address.

And the tricky part is knowing:

Is today a push day or a stop day?

Last Thursday, I should have stopped.

Instead, my form broke down and I strained my back.

Lesson learned. Or more accurately: lesson temporarily remembered.

Bodies are not linear systems.

Strength fluctuates.
Energy fluctuates.
Sleep, stress, travel, hormones, life — all of it shows up in your training whether you invite it or not.

A single workout is a data point, not a diagnosis.

Training like an adult means knowing when to floor it and when to tap the brakes.

Here’s a quick check before a hard session.

If any of these are true, today is not a push day:

• Sharp, localized, or joint pain that worsens with movement
• Feverish, flu-ish, or clearly getting sick¹
• Several days of abnormal performance drops
• Lingering soreness that gets worse once you start moving
• System-wide stress signals: terrible sleep, irritability, dread, elevated resting HR

If yes to any:

Option A: Full rest
Option B: 20–30 minutes of easy movement (walk, light bike, mobility)
Option C: Consider a deload if this has been building for a week

If these sound familiar, you should probably move — just not heroically.

• Poor sleep or a stressful day
• Normal muscle soreness
• Mentally flat but not dreading training
• Slightly weaker or slower than usual

Adjust the dose:

• Keep 3–4 reps in reserve on main lifts
• Cut total sets 25–50%
• Swap brutal conditioning for steady cardio or light circuits
• Finish feeling like you could have done more

If these are true, proceed.

• Discomfort feels like effort, not pain
• Warm-up improves how you feel
• Performance matches recent sessions
• The only obstacle is mild laziness

In that case:

Run the session.
Push hard.
Keep technique clean and bar speed honest.

Red more than once a week
→ consider a deload or reducing volume.

Mostly Yellow
→ sleep, food, or stress probably need attention.

Regular Greens
→ you’re in a good training groove. Stay the course.

What do I do when I’ve pushed too far?

First: rest.

If it’s fatigue, rest fixes it. If it doesn’t improve with rest, you may need a physician.

Do not attempt to “train through” an injury. That strategy rarely ends well.

Myth: Taking a day off is a disaster.

Reality: A day off is part of training.

Even three days off — which I recently tested — will not derail your progress.

Injury will.

Most injuries don’t arrive as surprises.

They arrive as suggestions.

A strange warm-up.
A lift that suddenly feels unstable.
A quiet voice that says “today might not be the day.”

Ignoring that voice is a common training habit.

Listening to it is a skill.

Roasted Sweet Potato + Yogurt Bowl

This is what I make when I want comfort food but still intend to act like a functioning adult.

Roast a sweet potato at 400°F until it collapses a little and the sugars start to caramelize (about 40–50 minutes).

Split it open.

Add:

• a big spoonful of plain Greek yogurt²
• cinnamon
• a healthy handful of walnuts or pecans
• a drizzle of honey or maple syrup
• pinch of salt

Warm, sweet, creamy, and oddly satisfying.

Protein, fiber, slow carbs, healthy fat.

Also the kind of food that feels appropriate after a week where the body has politely asked for less heroism and more cooperation.

“Do you really need a rest day or are you just being a little bitch?”
— The Iron Lab Podcast, Episode 14

The title is not subtle.

But the advice is useful.

Before your next workout ask:

Discomfort + normal performance → Push

Danger signals or big performance drop → Rest

Simple rules work surprisingly well.

Stay strong,
{{first name | reader}}

P.S. Progress isn’t built from heroic workouts.
It’s built from thousands of ordinary ones you survive without getting injured.

Quick question: Have you ever pushed through a workout you knew you shouldn’t have?