Feel like you’ve been hit by a bus by all your training??
Are you addicted to the adrenalin kick you get when you train- you may be doing too much……..
Overtraining damages your body- when you exercise beyond your body’s ability to recover you may be left with injuries preventing you from competing in that all important event. It’s common in sports involving repetitive movements such as running- the same repeated traumas stress your soft tissues and joints over and over and problems such as Achilles Tendinitis and Shin Splints can develop. But it doesn’t stop there. Too much training, particularly when you are carrying injury, can make you move differently to avoid your aches and lead to problems extending into your back and spine.
The common warning signs:
- feel washed out, tired, low in energy, irritable
- mild leg soreness, general aches and pains, headaches
- decrease in performance, appetite
- increase in injuries
- you may even have a compulsive urge to train (this can be your addiction to adrenalin!)
The solutions are:
• Plain old fashioned rest or at least a reduction in the number of days that you train
• Increasing fluids and reviewing your diet
• Massage to alleviate general aches and pains.
You need a couple of days off a week- at least one every 3 days of training. Not only will you find that your results improve, your potential for injury decreases significantly. Effective training involves overloading the body enough to improve, followed by time to rest and repair.
If you are not sure whether you are training too much, come to one of our Drop In Clinics in Edinburgh or Glasgow to see if we can help. Or just call us on 0131 556 1116 or 0141 332 6000 for some over the phone help.
