Injury, training, race, injury, training, injury.....
One of the most noticeable concerns I have from working with the endurance community is the amount of athletes that live day to day with serious muscular imbalances, normally as a result of either unbalanced training loads or insufficient rehabilitation.
Like many sports over the recent years, there has been a dramatic change in the way the amateur athlete now trains. They train as much as, sometimes more than a professional would, employing full time coaches and training upwards of 25 hours a week, on top of a full time career and family. As a result, we are now seeing athletes who have the inclination to pursue intensive training regimes and consequently put themselves more at risk to training overload and a higher risk of overuse injuries.
Too often are we seeing athletes with ongoing niggles and injuries that are considered a normal ‘feature’ that is brought up time and time again!
“Oh yeah I’ve had this calf pain for a most of the season, but its fine once I warm up!”
This is NOT normal, and NOT okay!
What is missing from this lifestyle equation? The answer is balance!
It may be time to stop, rest and recover PROPERLY!
If you are currently stuck in a continuous cycle of injury or you are lacking the muscular endurance in your legs to perform, then surely its time to introduce a strength program into your training.
Muscular strength, posture and technique are variables that could be preventing you from reaching your performance potential and so you’re going to need to incorporate strength and stability training into your program as a preventative measure.
When beginning, start simple and slow, and ensure you’re working out with good technique. Look to include two-strength sessions per week, with at least a day in between to allow your muscles to recover. If you’re doing another session on the same day, do your strength workout first so your not tired going into it, and ideally try not to schedule strength work on the same day as a ‘key’ session. When you begin any type of strength training there can often be delayed onset muscle soreness, usually referred to as DOMS, so don't be surprised if you pulled up a little sore, be consistent and this will get less over time.