Over the past few months, I’ve been writing a weekly blog every Thursday. I’m going to include in another blog post here and there, when I can, to keep the info rolling! Hope you enjoy…
A winning mindset is much easier to maintain when you are uninjured. Let’s face it, injury is part of an athlete and a warrior’s life. Sooner or later you will be injured. We all love to train, and must do it to maintain our edge and to continually grow, BUT it is easy to overdo it. In our zealous quest to train longer and harder, and in spite of proving the “20X Factor” to ourselves time and again (that we are capable of at least 20 times what we currently think), it is still likely that we will over-train and get injured.
Oh, the curse of over-training… some of our best warriors and athletes are riding the bench because of it. Maybe you are right now?
When you push yourself harder and harder, and get serious results, it is easy to think that more of the same will lead to the better results. But when this doesn’t prove out and we plateau, instead of backing off…
we push HARDER!
Suddenly we are stuck in the O.Z. expecting that doing more is the answer. What’s the O.Z? It’s the “Over-Training Zone.”
Often we get stuck in the Over-Training Zone until an injury forces us to stop and slow down. Awareness of our bodies and what it feels like to enter the OZ will allow us to back off and rest at the right moments. I am talking about backing off even if you have regularly scheduled off days and active recovery days like we do at SEALFIT. The flip side to over-training is Durability Training. How can we train to be more durable and ensure that we stay out of the OZ?
- Take extra days off when you feel yourself entering the OZ
- Take at least 2 separate weeks (maybe more) completely off from physical training each year
- Eat the right foods at the right times
- Ensure you recover adequately while you sleep
- Perform active Range of Motion drills before each training sessions
- Perform mobility and stretching drills after each session or in a separate session
- Maintain awareness and presence by working “in” as much as you work “out”
- Use a somatic practice such as Warrior Yoga (see Unbeatable Mind) to maintain a healthy spine, organs, ligaments and a clear mind.
Sincerely,
CDR Mark Divine, founder, SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind
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