Recovery…or preparation?
It just wasn’t working.
I had recently added in more strength sessions to my weekly workout routine. Overall, it was going well…I was increasing my weights, feeling strong, and starting to recover faster from my workouts.
Except…
Leg day.
It’s easy for a leg workout to turn into a cardio workout…moving those big muscles with squats and lunges can quickly get your heart rate pumping in addition to depleting the muscles.
The “breaks” the instructor would give in between sets were feeling shorter and shorter…how in the world was I expected to recover in such a short amount of time?
It felt impossible.
And then one day the instructor said something that completely changed my mindset.
Has this ever happened to you?
She said “The time between sets is about preparing for the next set.”
Wait, what?
I had always looked at those breaks as recovery - a time to rest after an effort. Thinking about how to prepare for the next set was a complete shift in my perspective.
I started thinking about what I needed. A focus on breathing. A drink of water. An adjustment to my mat or my weights.
That shift was a game changer for me. The workouts began feeling more manageable. I felt more in control over my experience, and ready for the next round of work.
How do you see rest?
Is rest something you need to earn from a tough effort? Something that you can only have “after”?
Or is it about the next effort, the next thing on your plate, the next place where you’ll be challenged?
Of course, rest has to be about recovery to a degree. When we work hard and push ourselves, we need time to recover from the effort. But when rest becomes only about recovery, we don’t set ourselves up for what comes next.
Do you get a good night’s sleep before the project kickoff, or crash into bed once it’s over?
Do you enjoy a nice meal in the evening, or zone out in front of the TV?
Do you use the window between projects to set the next project up for success, or catch up on all the things you set aside during the last big push?
If you find yourself focused on recovery over preparation, here are a few shifts you can make:
Start thinking ahead
It’s hard to prepare when we don’t know what we’re preparing for. Take some time to consider what’s really coming up.
Maybe you know your talent planning cycle will hit hard this week. What else do you have on your plate? Perhaps you review the kids’ activity calendars and realize you have at least 2 activities every night this week.
Consider what you’ll actually need
Once you see what you need to prepare for, consider what it will take to be successful with your plans.
Perhaps the busy weeknight schedule requires some weekend meal prep or grocery shopping so you can get healthy meals on the table each night. Maybe taking a long weekend before the big offsite will give you the space you need to be in the right frame of mind for the challenging conversations ahead.
Make it happen
Knowing what you need and actually making it happen are two different things. What do you need to do to actually prepare for what’s coming?
Maybe the meal prep you need for the week requires you to shop and prep on Saturday this week because of Sunday commitments. Perhaps you need to proactively block out your calendar to make time to prepare for your upcoming presentation, rather than hope that the time will stay available.
It’s easy to think about our rest time as recovery, especially if we’ve been working hard. But a shift to think about how to use that time to prepare for our next effort, by thinking ahead, considering what we actually need, and making sure we can make it happen, we’ll be setting our future selves up for success.
Where do you need to shift your thinking from recovery to preparation?
Would a thought partner help, someone who can support you in seeing the opportunities you’re missing?
You’re here. You want to be there. I can help.
Let’s talk. Book time, and we’ll figure out how to get you unstuck and get going.
How will you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
April 24, 2025
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
Book your free strategy session.
