BODY, MIND, and BALANCE
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Thank you for taking your valuable time for checking out this short article! I hope that this article finds each of you healthy and enjoying your fitness activities. I have had the good fortune of coaching many people at www.powerfulathlete.com for over five years. I have thoroughly enjoyed witnessing their achievements ranging from losing body fat, gaining muscle mass, improving aerobic capacity, and completing endurance events such as marathons, century rides, and triathlons. Some of the athletes that I work with initially come to me with no current fitness activities. For them, it is easy to suggest a variety of fitness activities which provides for an overall, comprehensive training program and a higher level of interest and motivation since there are different fitness activities in which they train. However, some of the athletes that come from training with a single sport (running for example) are sometimes a little harder to convince that by reducing the frequency, duration, and/or intensity with that one sport in order so that they may train with others to seek overall improvement. Just like you would not eat any one food all the time, it makes sense over the long term not to do just one physical activity or sport. Moreover, there are several physical and psychological benefits to expanding your fitness menu. Some of the physical benefits include an overall increase in strength, better overall aerobic condition, and a significant decrease in injury. The runner who runs practically every day with no other fitness activities will very likely experience injuries because of overuse of the running muscles, the continuous pounding on the joints, and lack of strength in other areas of the body to maintain proper form over the long haul. One athlete that I worked with came from a very strong running background. She would typically run two marathons a year and log approximately 40 to 50 miles a week. She also would have nagging injuries (sore feet, tight hamstrings, patella tendonitis). Her new goal was to participate in a triathlon (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run). However, she wanted to still do her weekly mileage with running and race two marathons that year. After much spirited debate, I finally convinced her to cut her running to three days a week, bike twice, swim once, and strength train once a week. To make a long story short, she completed the triathlon, reduced the frequency of her injuries, and set a personal record in her marathon! There are also several psychological benefits that come with having an array of choices on your fitness menu. This includes increased motivation, decreased burnout, and a variety of achievable goals. Lance Armstrong could bike every day if he wanted to, but instead decided to run the New York City Marathon. One reason is to have new goals and to maintain motivation. I worked with an athlete three years ago in my private practice at www.abingtonpsychology.com that walked off their division 1 scholarship for swimming. He had no physical injuries, but after swimming approximately two miles a day for six days a week since he was ten, he just woke up one morning and decided that was it for swimming. He had absolutely no motivation to go to the pool. During the next three months when I continued to work with him in therapy, he never went near a pool, but did start to hike and cross country ski. At the last session with me he stated that he wished he had done other sports in high school which probably would have increased his overall level of happiness and also decreased his chances of burning out from swimming. I received an email from him a year ago and he now hikes, cross country skis, mountain bikes, and plays in a softball league with friends. He states that he is very happy with his life. He received his college degree, has a variety of friends, and really enjoys working out with different fitness activities. I hope that this article will be useful to you with your fitness and athletic goals. Comments are always welcomed, so feel free to email me at coryic@aol.com. Please feel free to also check out www.powerfulathlete.com to see if I may assist you with your health, exercise, and fitness goals. Train smart! Cory Bank, Ph.D. TO SET UP A FREE CONSULTATION WITH CORY AT POWERFULATHLETE.COM, PLEASE EMAIL CORY AT CORYIC@AOL.COM |
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Created: 12/24/05 |
