Know your limits
Wellness is a massive part of an athletes profile. Most professional athletes are often monitored on how they are feeling physically and mentally to allow their coaches to modify training and performance.
Have you ever wondered why sometimes when you train or compete you feel really good and then other times you feel tired and sore even though you have worked just as hard to prepare your body for the rigors of rowing? The tendency, especially of young athletes, is to keep pushing and training to overcome these barriers in the hope this conditions an individuals body to cope with the fatigue associated with activity. However what consequences should be considered if an individual is to keep pushing themselves and not allow for the required recovery time? Mental and body fatigue is a major contributor which increases the likelihood of injuries occurring. As our mind fatigues our concentration decreases leading to lapses in technique and therefore increases in injuries as our body tries to find ways to adapt to tired muscles.
So what should we do before this occurs? LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND MIND! Your body knows best and is best at telling you when it needs a break. An easy and simple way to monitor your body and mind is to fill out a subjective questionnaire prior to performance such as the example below. If your scores are trending more towards the lower end of the scale, then training adjustments to decrease load may be advised. It is worth discussing with your coach strategies to implement to prevent body and mind fatigue.
