Tweet

It is the fall season and many athletes are getting back or just starting their fall training. Some have come off a successful season looking to maintain the momentum while others have re-evaluated their training and looking to improve on it this year. It is this time right at the beginning of the season many of us are super motivated. We’ve taken the rest we needed and ready to go. We still have those heavy weights we remembered from not too long ago and we have our eyes on our new goals.

However, in this article, I’d like to discuss training smarter. There are a lot of different theories on training in the fall. Most look at it as some sort of base. While some choose to slowly build into the season, some are using this time to hit the training as hard as possible. But what way is right? The easy answer is the one that works for you (gets you prepared without getting you injured.) But there are several questions we ask ourselves when going into training.

How hard should we train? Are we training hard enough? Are we training too hard? Should we rest? When should we rest? How can you tell when to push through and when to stop?

This by no means is a definitive answer, but I do want to share my experiences and research and as always invite others to join in the discussion and share their thoughts and insights as well.

How Hard Should You Train?

Well this is a very complex answer. One, we know we have to push our bodies past their comfort levels in order for the our bodies to change. We train how we want our bodies to respond. So if we are working on cardio or aerobic fitness, we will push it past our comfort levels on cardio and aerobic exercises. If we want to get stronger, we will push it past our comfort levels of strength. If we want to be able to throw longer and have the energy to work on things, well we need to throw.

Notice I am mentioning comfort level. As an experienced athlete, we know our bodies or at least are learning our bodies. We know when we are feeling pushed or tired, when we are being under pushed, and when we feel like we are being over pushed. When training, we are looking for that magic range that is neither too much nor too little.

My freshman year, I trained too little. I took the entire month of December off of training to enjoy Christmas break in Miami with my friend. I didn’t understand how to lift or that it had to be sort of hard to improve. I remember we maxed in the weight room when we first arrived. I benched 135 and squatted 275. After the fall of lifting we maxed before break and I benched 125 and squatted 275… I needed to learn my body and how to push it.

My junior year, I trained hard all summer. I lifted, I studied video, I threw more and harder, I dieted, I learned about protein shakes and supplements. I lifted harder than I ever had, fed my body better, lost 20lbs from my sophomore year (we won’t talk about my fat year), studied my film and the film of the best. I pushed my body and when it was done, I pushed it more. I ignored injuries not wanting to take time away from my progress and eventually I wasn’t even able to walk and discovered I got a stress fracture in my tibia from over training and under resting…

I’m still a competitive and hard working athlete. I still have problems with listening to my body and backing off of training. Sometimes you need to push yourself outside your comfort level and see what you are capable of doing. And sometimes you need to know your limits and respect them. As you grow, you will learn.

Should You Hurt?

If training was easy then everyone would do it. There is a certain level of psychosis to push your body to the limits, to ask it to do things you’ve never done and occasionally ask even more. We hear the term, “no pain, no gain.” So we think it needs to hurt in order to know that we’ve done something. However, over training, ignoring nagging injuries and pushing too hard can result in serious injuries.

One thing that experienced athletes quickly learn is what “pain” to push through and what “pain” to get looked at and take time to rest. Losing a few days of training now is worth more than losing a few months or possibly a year later.

This is just my opinion but pain I can work through is soreness. When your muscles are sore, exercise can actually make them feel better! So if you feel sore, don’t be afraid to keep working out and getting blood into your muscles and stretching the tightness out. Bad pain is a sharp pain or pain that intensifies while working out. If you are losing strength or it is too painful to lift or throw, don’t be a hero, get it looked at or have your coach modify your workouts.

And remember to keep track of your pain. When do you feel it? Do your knees hurt only after certain exercises? Is the pain new or has it been a nagging injuries? Pain is a message from your body, make sure that you’re not ignoring it!

Are You Over Training:

So if you’re dedicated and hard working, many of us won’t have trouble with under training. But some of us will have trouble with over training. Over training is different than pushing a little too hard one day and having to take a little extra rest. Over training is repeated over use of the body and under rest (over a period of time). Sometimes we forget that rest and recovery is just as important as training because that is when we are actually getting our gains.

If you are having any of these symptoms and are not seeing the gains you’d like, perhaps you are over training. Look at your workout. The idea is to do the optimum training (only as much as you need to be the best, extra is taking away from energy and time used for other better things.)

(This is a sample of signs, please visit this link to get more information)

Signs of Over Training

Performance

• Decreased performance (strength, power, muscle endurance, cardiovascular endurance)
• Decreased training tolerance and increased recovery requirements
• Decreased motor coordination
• Increased technical faults

Physiology

• Altered resting heart rate (HR), blood pressure and respiration patterns
• Decreased lactate response
• Increased basal metabolic rate
• Chronic fatigue
• Sleep and eating disorders
• Menstrual disruptions
• Headaches, gastrointestinal distress
• Muscle soreness and damage
• Joint aches and pains

Psychological

• Depression and apathy
• Decreased self-esteem
• Decreased ability to concentrate
• Decreased self-efficacy
• Sensitive to stress

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, take time off to rest, reduce training or intensity, cut out extra things that are not needed, make sure you are feeding your body properly and getting enough rest, and just generally be smart. Keep track of your training and look out for yourself. There is no reward for being stupid. lol

Good luck to everyone and hopes to this year is starting off great. I am leaving on my own quest driving almost 15 hours to Colorado to continue my training back with Coach Bedard. Thank you all for your support!

As always, feel free to email questions, comments, arguments, etc. Let’s keep the discussions and ideas going.

View Original Post at loreesmith.com | View Trkgal08's Full Profile

Tweet

• Filed Under:  
• Olympics, Track & Field, Sports, SportsPLUS, Training