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“I just feel a bit… off”

Amy Gorman

Ever been there? A little bit of Sunday scary’s turns into some Monday moping, then before you know it you’ve really been dragging yourself through to Wednesday and you’re praying for the weekend to start?


Yeah, every now and again, it might happen.


Life comes in waves and sometimes it’s going to feel pretty smooth sailing and other times it could be pretty insane. Or more change happens than you’d like. Or something comes up fairly unexpectedly.


It’s OK. Life, your body, and your responsibilities aren’t going to feel amazing all the time.


That’s when it comes back to the things we emphasise every week:


  1. Keep it simple

  • This is more important than ever if you feel a little overwhelmed or tired, as it keeps us moving and maintaining the muscle memory of our habits and therefore grows our results

  1. Listen to what your body needs

  • Sometimes that may be a case of not going home for the chicken and broccoli you’ve got in the fridge (although I hope we’ve got something much more exciting planned than that anyway) and going for a margarita pizza with your bestie to talk through the trash week you’re having

    • The result of this is twofold - you get the company you may be craving to talk through the challenges, have some non-work connection, and release some of the frustrations. The meal (which could be anything really) helps you to truly enjoy something, feed your soul and feel better able to move past the barrier and back into your regular routine that makes you feel good.

  • On other days that could be cancelling plans and going to bed by 8pm to allow your body time and space to process and recover from the things that are going on around you.

The way you keep it simple and listen is likely to change in every situation. Sometimes we feel we need to push ourselves into some form of normality and routine because our body is desperately craving it, especially if we’ve had a week of instability at work or a holiday. Other times you may feel you’ve been so structured that a light release is essential so you can continue pushing and making decisions that move you forward and keep you feeling on top.


The answer typically is not to hammer down and make things harder or more complicated. That’s generally when the full overwhelm hits hard.


Often what has happened when we get to this point of the near shutdown is that our central nervous system has been overstimulated and we don’t feel able to keep pushing on. Our stress is high, maybe from work/life pressure, lots of training, a long calorie deficit, or changes. Generally, we’ve spent so long in a fight or flight (stressed) state and now something has tipped us into freeze.


We need to actively make decisions to bring us into our rest and digest.


  • Sleep more

  • Drink plenty of water

  • Have nutritious food in the house - cue, online shopping order right now if needed

  • Plan down time or friend time - whichever will bring you energy, not deplete it

  • Go for a short walk

  • Breathe deeply

The sooner you can bring yourself into that rest and digest, the sooner you can push out of your freeze and back into feeling ‘normal’.


You can ever start to combat these feeling as soon as they appear through breathing activities and fuelling.


Imagine you’re having a tough day in the office. Stop. Take a breath in counting to five, hold in for five, breathe out for five, hold out for five. Do this as many times as you need.


In training, you can combat this stressed state instantly by having some carbs and protein after a hard session to allow your body to push straight into recovery. This is as simple as a protein shake and banana, so your body doesn’t continue pushing into fight or flight. Which in turn will help get you more of the results you want (more muscle, less bloat).


If you’re feeling the funk, take a second and try to implement some simple solutions.


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