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Official Frank Zane Website
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FEBRUARY
2005
All the enthusiasm generated by individuals wanting to get back in shape at the beginning of the new year after the holidays is commendable. But too much enthusiasm can lead to trying to get back into shape too quickly by training too much too soon. The result is overtraining, lost time and possible pain and suffering. Train too hard and/or too often and sooner or later you become susceptible to illness, accident, or injury. Training more frequently than you are accustomed to often results in lack of focus. Forcing yourself to go to the gym when you don't feel up to it may lead to not paying close enough attention to what you are doing. It's happened to me, training when I should have been resting, then suffering an injury in the gym because my focus was 100 percent during an exercise. Problem is you really can't be sure when to go to the gym and when not to go. One part of you says don't train because you need to rest, another part accuses you of making excuses. What to do? You only know what you should have done after you've done it. Feeling like you're coming down with a cold and forcing yourself to train may bring the cold on. But it also may have been an illusion on your part where you really needed to train. I've certainly made lots of bad training decisions, but my policy as I've grown older is "when in doubt, don't work out". Taking off an extra day or two usually does me good and makes me feel more like training when I do get back to it. I've also found that training more than two days in a row can lead to overtraining unless I really get a lot of rest. Whenever I feel more sore or tired than I'd like to be I take a three day layoff. This give my body a chance to recuperate and I appreciate the strength and energy boost I receive. The most time I take off is one week unless it's unavoidable, then two weeks is the max. After a week of not training I'm usually stronger, but after two weeks I'm in for a lot of soreness to regain lost ground. So take your time to get in shape. Increase your training intensity gradually. There's no hurry. You've got the rest of your life so enjoy the trip. Speaking of layoffs, I'll be taking a week off from training for The Arnold Expo, coming up March 4th, 5th, and 6th in Columbus, Ohio at the convention center. My booth number is 301, so if you're there please stop by. I'll be autographing a brand new 9 by 12 inch photo. My band INZANE will also be playing Saturday night March 5th at the Hyatt Capital Square 2nd floor lounge at 11:30 pm. I've been training so much with clients lately it will be nice to have some time off. Two weeks before the Arnold Expo is the Iron Man Expo February 18 & 19th in Pasadena, CA at the Civic Center. I'm planning on showing up on Saturday and then catching the physique show that night. By the way my Train with Zane Video will be available on DVD in about 5 weeks, same price. Till next month,
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Christine Zane
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