Quality vs Quantity

A couple months ago, I was starting to feel like I'd hit a wall in my training.  I was doing so much - teaching six classes a week, boxing regularly, weight training on my own time, running with my dog - but I wasn't feeling any stronger or seeing any measurable results.  Rather, I was feeling burnt out, constantly exhausted, and sometimes straight up sick.  I took a step back and looked at what I was doing, and realized that I was juggling so much quantity that I had lost my ability to work out with quality.  And wouldn't you know, that's this week's Wednesday Word!

In the past few weeks I've taken a step back and trimmed down my schedule a bit.  I'm teaching fewer classes but I have so much more energy and enthusiasm for them; my students can tell I'm doing better than I was a couple months ago.  I haven't been to boxing in a while, which makes me a little sad, but I have made good use of the time and, considering the last few times I boxed I ended up throwing up, my health has appreciated it for a while too!  Hopefully I'll start getting back into it soon, but I definitely needed the recharge.  My running always slows down when it's snowy and cold, so that's also giving me a bit of a break.

By recognizing I was sacrificing quality in favor of quantity, I was able to adjust and reinvigorate myself.  When I can straighten out my schedule and get back into some of the things that have taken a backseat lately, I'll be rested and ready to hit it hard again, allowing me to train with intensity and reap the benefits.  So much of fitness relies on the quality of the work you're doing, it's too important to ensure you're able to give that 110% every time to blow needless energy overworking yourself.

The Wednesday Word is a weekly linkup hosted by Deb Runs.  Pop on over to her page to see what other bloggers, runners, and lifters have to say about how quality impacts their lives!

How do you ensure your workouts are performed with quality?  Have you ever encountered a time when you realized you were putting too much emphasis on quantity?  How did you adjust?