For reals, it takes a ton of maintenance to keep this train on the tracks. I need lots of rules to keep from f'n myself up.
I spent most of my training career throwing caution to the wind. I sincerely think I would not have achieved what I did going easy on myself.
However, gone are the days when I mishandle a rep and tweak a bodypart just to be fine the next day. Wrong moves ALWAYS cause setbacks in my training.
My newest addition is the "One Hour Rule." It dictates that no matter how I feel in the morning, I must give my body an hour to wake up.
All too often I feel like a bag of smashed sphincters upon rising. I have been forever trying to figure out which combination of stretches, movements, rehab, etc will help me feel better.
The answer is NOTHING! My body just needs to warm up. There are two allowable possibilities. Get my body warm in the shower, the hot tub, or one day when I get one, a sauna. The other is an easy walk.
This also means I cannot do any purposeful training in the morning. No resistance training or conditioning. Notice I do not consider casual walks conditioning.
My soft tissue needs to wake up. For me, there's no fighting inflammation and arthritis. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your body is nothing.
