The other night during spin class, I had an epiphany about what it takes to recover and recharge.
I usually perceive myself as someone who “needs” a good amount of time to reflect and recharge. I count on down time to fill myself back up to be ready for whatever is next. However, during class the other night, my teacher Carl pulled a fast one. Class is usually pretty balanced – one song will focus on the stronger resistance used to simulate climbing uphill, and the next will be a low resistance sprint. One song will be out of the saddle, and the next will be seated, or there will be a designated recovery time. Monday, though, he mixed things up and followed one long, high-resistance, out of the saddle climbing drill with another similarly intense drill.
“No time to recharge for the next climb?” I thought to myself, somewhat panicked. “I’m supposed to keep going?”
Then it hit me – exactly. I’m supposed to keep going. I can find rest and recovery in action.
In class, I shifted my focus to my breath and kept my legs moving. In life, it’s probably pretty similar. We can use our minds, and their powerful abilities to refocus, to find the reserves we need while moving forward. Rest and recovery periods can be whatever we say they are. It’s a big, full life. Some of that fullness is conscious – feeding important social connections, doing our work, time for taking care of ourselves – and some of it is the result of circumstances. Either way, our big, full lives don’t always allow for the bubble bath or the day off or the 30-second water break when we think we need them – yet we can find ways to refocus and keep going.
I notice that the need to recharge in action is becoming a theme in my life. My friend Anne Samoilov (www.annesamoilov.com) recently talked about a similar thing in an interview with fitness expert Val Waters. One piece of advice I loved from that interview is, “be grateful for what is and what is coming!” Maybe a simple shift to focusing on the breath or on gratitude is a key to finding strength for the next push. Sort of a mental bubble bath, if you will.
My mid-spin recharge left me feeling like a super hero. I probably strutted out of the gym. Good.
How do you refuel in action? Please leave a note below – I’d love to hear.
