We all know the Goldilocks fairytale, wherein she tries out the bears' porridge to find one too salty, another too sweet and the third "just right" - and how, finding the beds similarly too hard, too soft and the third "just right", climbs in and enjoys the perfect sleep.
So how does this relate to exercise? Well, too much in one go can leave us feeling stiff and achey for days afterwards. Too little and...guess what? We can feel stiff and achey for not having moved enough!
Little and often is the key to quicker progress when we want to get fitter, become more flexible, build strength & improve our co-ordination and balance. Thirty minutes 3-4 times a week is much more effective than a 2-hour marathon once a week. As regards effort levels, making sure you're still able to talk (rather than gasp!) whilst exercising is a useful yardstick to go by.
When we find a new activity that we enjoy, we can go a bit mad initially and end up overdoing it (ever tried a strict new diet in January only to fall off the wagon spectacularly a week or two later?!). This can be counter-productive to our desire to improve and even put us off the activity when we don't progress as quickly as we'd like.
So, do you stay within your "Goldilocks zone"? Does it serve you the perfect portion of exercise to help you sleep soundly (rather than groaning in pain as you turn over in bed!)? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear your view :-)
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