This is a new content format I want to do regularly moving forward. I get a ton of questions via social media, private messages, and email. Between everything, the questions I get are often on topics that would benefit everyone.

So without further ado… Let’s dive into this week’s questions.

I’ve been sick lately and have missed an extra two days from the gym. Today I’m feeling almost better, but not fully. Should I take another day off? I’m afraid of doing so because of how much I ate last weekend.

This is a great question, and it’s one people face all of the time. You’ve taken a few days off from the gym because you feel like crap. You start to feel better, and the initial reaction is to get right back in the gym and make up for lost time.

Well, don’t.

Just relax. Take more time to get as close to 100 percent (or all the way to 100 percent) before you head back into the gym to train.

It’s all a matter of recovery systems in your body. When you’re sick, your body immediately does everything it can to fend off the illness. Our bodies are always striving for a level of homeostasis, so all internal attention goes towards recovery.

If you go to the gym and train while your body is attempting to recover, you’re just going to add more recovery systems to the mix. Now, instead of just focusing on getting over illness, your body will have to deal with repairing muscle damage from your work out.

While it may make you feel better mentally to get a workout in, you’re only going to delay the amount of time it takes to get over the illness. Your body is struggling to recover from illness, so challenging it with more right now is only go to complicate things.

I admire the desire to get back into the gym. It shows you’re motivated! But let’s be smart and a little patient right now, too.

How do I get over the intimidation that comes with working out in the weight room at my gym?

I really feel for people who struggle with gym intimidation, because I’ve been there before.

As a skinny kid all the way into my mid-20’s, I never felt like I belonged in the weight room. I felt like I was the odd man out around people who were bigger and stronger.

Looking back, avoiding the weight room is one of my biggest regrets because I missed out on so many years of gains due to gym intimidation, among other things. I want to help as many people as possible to not miss those years, because we can’t get them back!

Here’s the thing… gym intimidation commonly centers around being afraid that people are watching you, or making fun of you, or you’re doing something incorrectly and everyone knows it.

The reality is… Nobody is watching you. You’re doing fine, and the rest of the people in the gym each day are much more focused on themselves than you.

And that’s exactly how you should be.

Focus on yourself. Focus on a few different exercises — ideally some of the basic movements — and get really good at them. As you get really good at them, you’ll get more comfortable in the weight room. Then, you can branch out and try a few new things.

Keep repeating that process, and you’ll find over time that the weight room goes from a place you fear to a place you LOVE.

I promise you that.

Focus on you, and over time that gym intimidation will begin to fade away.

I finished the 21-Day Jump Start Program… Now what should I do?

You’ve got a ton of options!

First, you could run the program again, exactly as you did before.

Second, you could modify the program and get rid of things you disliked and add in more of what you LOVED. Or, keep it all and add in a new exercise or two.

Third, if you’re really motivated, we can talk about coaching to really up-level your program and get even BIGGER results!

Either way, make sure you don’t stop. Make sure the 21-Day Jump Start Program serves as the beginning of a brand new lifestyle, and keep being proactive about living healthy and active.

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CGF