Avoiding Overtraining Injuries

Have you made a new year’s resolution and started a new activity to be the healthiest version of yourself that you can be? Below are tips on how you can avoid overtraining injuries.
I bet you didn’t expect to start the year off with several visits to your Chiropractor did you? As usual, I have seen multiple cases already where people have started to exercise, or have gone back into their training routines and injured themselves as a result. Whether this is at the gym, running, swimming, or any other type of physical activity, the key to safe training is by getting back to it slowly.

Overtraining is a concern for all who exercise to lose weight and stay in shape.
Injuries usually involve the muscles, joints, tendons, ligaments and bones. It can happen to anyone that increases their activity or intensity, more than their body is used to.

Signs and Symptoms
If you experience any of the following symptoms after working out to meet your goals, overtraining could be a cause.

• Physiological: increased resting heart rate, increased blood pressure.
• Physical: decreased appetite, increased thirst, upset stomach, sleeping disturbances, general feeling of fatigue throughout the day, unusual muscle soreness.
• Behavioural: personality changes, decreased motivation, change in concentration, lowered self-esteem, inability to cope with stress.
• Performance: increased heart rate during activity, lowered strength or endurance, impaired movement and coordination.

 

In order to improve your fitness, you need to push yourself somewhat in order to get results. But pushing yourself too hard can result in injuries that can cause a setback to your fitness goals.

Tips to avoid injuries

• Don’t increase exercise difficulty level too hastily. Exercise needs to be progressed at a gradual pace. Follow a plan that increases your activity safely and steadily. For example:

– when running, an increase in difficulty may include increasing speed, running up or downhill, increasing duration, or use of intervals, where you alternate intensity over time.

– during resistance training, an increase in difficulty may include increased weight, repetitions, or sets.

• Pay attention to your body. If it feels like you are developing signs of overtraining, then take a break, lessen your activity, or rest.
• Ease into it. Don’t expect to make up for several months or years of inactivity with a few weeks of exercise. People who try to do too much too soon, often end up injured or frustrated and give up on their fitness goals altogether.

Here are some other ideas

• Take a break. Plan a rest day in your schedule. Your bones, joints, and muscles need them to stay healthy.
• Sleep. Recent studies support the important role of sleep in the health of active people and athletes. This is when our bodies’ build and repair and our immune system recovers.
• Eat well. Proper nutrition is essential and do not severely restrict calories when exercising. Eat proper nutrients, including plenty of lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

How Can We Help You Meet Your Fitness Goals?

During a visit to our clinic, we can help avoid overtraining injuries by;:

• Checking your flexibility, strength, and endurance of your muscles to see if they support your desired level of activity.
• Ensure that symptoms are due to overuse or overtraining and not something more serious.
• Identify training errors to ensure a safe fitness plan, no matter your previous level of activity.
• Correct biomechanical problems in relation to your chosen activity to avoid overuse of a susceptible body part.
• Provide an appropriate training plan to minimize risk of injury and help you safely meet your fitness goals.

 

For more information on how we can help, contact us to schedule an appointment, or give us a call on 92626566 Sydney CBD or 95509480 Lewisham.