Steer Clear Of Health Disasters

Managing your life properly also means managing your exercise and training.

Changes also happen in our training routines. We may introduce more of a different type of exercise, sign up for a new class or step-up the level we are training at.

Of course change and variety is important. But have you been realistic? Increasing your overall training load by more than 10% in a week places a big strain on your body. An increase of less than this can make a big difference if you are already training close to your limit. A new type of exercise can start to use groups of muscles you have not previously used or bring in a type of fatigue you are not used to – 30min of intensive effort places different demands on your body to an hour at a less intense level.

Remember that what your body is capable of on a one-off basis is not the same as what is sustainable. Because you manage to keep running 40min instead of your usual 20min it does not mean it is a good idea! You’ll feel the effects over the next couple of days!

It is dangerous to think that because you managed to increase your training to a higher level last week you will be able to sustain that level over the coming weeks. You could well be taking more out of your body than it is able to handle on a sustainable basis. A one-off late night may be fine but that is different to surviving on that little sleep each night. It is the same with exercise.

Very often an injury has little to do with the activity you were doing when it flared-up. It is more often the cumulative effect of built up excessive stain and, as the saying goes, it is often a straw that breaks the camels back. So be aware of any aches and pains that get worse rather than better or fail to go away. If you are getting more and more tired week-on-week then back off. Illness is around the corner and if your body is rundown it will take far longer to recover from even the slightest bug.

You need to incorporate changes to your training progressively. For example introduce the new exercise class/exercise activity/session once a week and when you are comfortable with this move on. If you do three sessions a week don’t change them all into something completely different straight away. You body needs time to adapt and strengthen to cope with the new demands.

If you are looking to step up the amount of training you do it may be a case of stepping up the training one week, sustaining that for a week, then dropping back to your previous level for a week to give your body a rest before stepping up again. So for instance if you are used to 20min on a CV training machine and want to move to 30min you may go Week 1: 25min; Week 2: 25min; Week 3: 20min: Week 4: 25min; Week 5: 30min; Week 6: 30min; Week 7: 25min, and then consider your normal level 30min.

Take note - a step back can be a positive change to make to your training for a week or a month. It allows your body to recover from any little niggling aches and pains, gives you mental freshness and if you are feeling a little tired allows your body to recharge its batteries. Why not step back to 60% your usual training for a week or even month? When you move back to your previous level of training take the same number of weeks to build back up as you have had at the easier level. It may sound a bizarre way to safeguard your fitness but most of the world’s best sports men and women will take at least a month off training completely each year not because of illness or injury but to allow their body and mind to ‘rest and recharge’.

A good way to have changes and variety in training is to have the variety built in. For example if you do two or three sessions a week do something different in each of these rather than the same thing each time. Change what you do each month making sensible and manageable changes which mean after six months your training may be very different to what it was before. It can help if you pick a few different goals to achieve over the course of a year. For example a 5K run, a hill walking challenge and a half marathon are in many ways similar challenges which mean your fitness from one will help a lot with the others. But the variety in training as you target each will be enough to maintain your interest. A good training schedule and selection of goals will ensure a varied routine.

Manage your training wisely and you will reap the benefits.

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