There is a common misconception that working out at the gym makes you stronger.
The reality? When you lift weights and overload your muscles, you are actually breaking your muscles down — the stress of the weights literally tears your muscle fibres apart.
The time when you get stronger is the periods between your workouts, between the periods of stress. Your muscles get stronger in the periods of recovery — i.e. you get stronger when you rest!
This is the premise of the “Growth Equation”: Stress + Rest = Growth
Growth occurs through the cycle of stress and rest — and building in rest is just as important as working through the stress.
To reach peak performance, you need both the right amount of “stress” and the right amount of “rest”.
- What is the growth you’re pursuing, individually and as a team?
- What stress are you placing on the system?
- What is the rest you are building into your cycle that helps the system recover and become stronger?
For more on the Growth Equation and how it relates to your team and organization, visit The Equation That Will Make You Better at Everything by Brad Stulberg.