Week 46 log - 2025 - Hagen Growth

The cost of overreaching

My systems were working, my training was improving, I did my work at a high level, and I felt consistently in control. But this week broke that streak. I pushed myself too hard at the wrong moment – and spent the rest of the week dealing with the consequences.

Week 46 metrics

Training
Workouts: 2 | Cycling: 6 hrs

Recovery
Avg sleep: 7:32 hrs | Sleep score: 79

Work
HG work: 19 hrs | Other work: 22.5 hrs

This log reflects how I’ve worked with the Hagen Growth philosophy in practice over the past week

What I worked on

This week was a transition point – the last time during my resignation period where exams, my job, and Hagen Growth all needed attention at the same time. I finished my exam at the start of the week, and as always, fatigue hit me afterward. It has improved over the years, but it’s still something I need to manage.

Because the exam marked the beginning of a period with mor focus on Hagen Growth, I wanted to celebrate. So I planned a longer ride than usual: five hours, plenty of elevation, something I’ve done many times before – but never in Thailand’s heat, and never after an exam that had already left my body tired and heavy. I knew I wasn’t in great shape for it, but I had decided the day before that I would do it, and I pushed through anyway. Those five hours ended up shaping the rest of my week.

The next morning I woke up completely depleted – physically and mentally. I worked on Hagen Growth, but my focus was gone. My head felt foggy, the quality of my work dropped, my mood was low, my sleep got worse, and even my resting heart rate jumped higher than usual.

The fatigue carried into training as well. I couldn’t perform in the gym, and I missed three workouts in total. It was a frustrating week, but one that taught me what I need to improve going forward.

What went well

The day after the ride, as I finished my work and faced a dilemma. Should I stick to the plan and go to the gym, or give my body the recovery it was clearly asking for?

Normally, I would have pushed through – partly out of discipline, partly out of fear of losing momentum. This time, I chose differently. I let myself rest. And while it can feel like the “lazy” choice, it was the right one.

Instead of forcing myself into a bad workout and making the fatigue worse, I went home. I did some light yoga, took a nap, hydrated properly, and focused on recovering. I repeated the same approach for the rest of the week. I had created the situation by ignoring my body, so the only way back was to listen to it.

Now, at the end of the week, I’m still tired and a bit sore, but I feel clearer. My energy is coming back, and I’m genuinely looking forward to getting back into the gym and onto the bike next week.

What could have been better

I’ve struggled with fatigue after exams for as long as I can remember. In the past, I’ve handled it by scheduling deloads or short breaks afterward, and it has always helped me recover. Recently, it has improved, and I let that make me overconfident. Planning a five-hour ride the day after the exam was the first mistake. I already knew from experience that this is when my body needs to slow down. But the real mistake happened during the ride itself.

Within the first few minutes I felt heavy, but I convinced myself I just needed to warm up. After an hour, I felt nauseous and struggled to get water and food down. I told myself I could always cut it short, yet I kept going. Three hours in, I felt like I could fall asleep on the bike. At hour four, exhausted, I even went for a personal best on a local segment, pushing my heart rate close to max. By the end, I was completely done.

My body sent clear signals the entire time. I ignored every one of them and the rest of the week was the consequence.

Next time, I need to respect those signals early. There’s no shame in cutting a workout short when I’m genuinely depleted, especially when it’s far beyond what I normally do. Effort only matters when it compounds in the right direction. Pushing too far doesn’t build anything long term, it just proves I can damage my own consistency. And while testing my limits can be fun occasionally, doing it too often works against every goal I’m trying to build.

Reflection of the week – Finding the line between listening and pushing

There’s a fine line between listening to your body and pushing through discomfort. Lean too far to either side for too long, and consistency eventually breaks. But finding that line is one of the hardest parts of growth. We’re told two conflicting truths:

Listen to your body – respect what your body is telling you.
Push through discomfort – do the work no matter how you feel.

Both are right, yet they’re often communicated as opposites. In reality, the balance is far more nuanced.

Our bodies naturally seek comfort. Training feels uncomfortable long before it becomes productive. Deep work feels boring before it becomes meaningful. If we stop every time we feel resistance, nothing moves forward.

But there’s a difference between healthy discomfort and genuine depletion. This week taught me that the hard way. My body was already fatigued from the exam, and instead of adjusting, I forced myself to do more. It didn’t build discipline – it drained it. The consequences carried through the rest of the week.

So how do we tell the difference?

First, look at the severity of the signals.
Being tired at the end of a workout is normal. Feeling heavy, nauseous, or worse from the very beginning is a different message.

Second, consider the long-term impact.
Some effort compounds positively over time. Some effort takes more than it gives.

Stopping that ride early would have changed nothing in the long run – it wouldn’t have hurt progress. Skipping work the next day would have had real consequences – pushing through there mattered. That’s the real balancing point:

How does this decision affect you over time?

Finding this line takes practice. It isn’t about choosing comfort or effort – it’s about learning which discomfort moves you forward and which pushes you backward. Get that balance right, and consistency becomes sustainable. Misjudge it, and you pay for it later.

Week 46 summarized

Week 46 showed me exactly what happens when I push too hard at the wrong time. I started the week in a vulnerable state after my exam, ignored the signals, and paid for it. The rest of the week carried the consequences – missed workouts, lower work quality, and slower recovery. The main lesson was clear: I need to get better at finding the balance between listening to my body and pushing through.

Next week’s focus

Next week, the goal is simple: get back on track. My focus is on rebuilding consistency – doing what’s planned, no more and no less – and giving my body the stability it didn’t get this week.

Training – Five gym sessions and five hours on the bike. Maintain high intensity and quality. Be careful to not push too hard as we get back on track.
Hagen Growth – Continue working towards the launch of the new version of Hagen Growth in December.