The Causes and Consequences of Overtraining

    Overtraining is extremely common. As a coach for cross country and track and field, I see a lot of instances where my athletes are constantly fighting the effects of overtraining. I do my best to control the workouts so they do not over-train, but they often put themselves in situations where they do over-train because they do way more than what I assign them because they are kids with lives outside of practice. However, even collegiate or professional athletes over-train because there is this need to overachieve.

    In a recent article on another blog, I wrote about how I am pushing my limits for my own training because I have a martial arts test and I can't afford to take things slow, if I can manage to speed up my training. We are often pushed by our own goals because we have visions of our own success, so we train harder. However, can we train smarter? We have to if we want to minimize the consequences of training at intense levels.

    Younger athletes can over-train more and recover in time to train. Older athletes, like myself, need time to recover if we over-train. It is an age-old dilemma that needs to be handled. The key is recovery, but how and why do we do it to ourselves? Over-training is obvious, right? In the quest to push our limits for limitless reasons, over-training is unavoidable. We have to use our minds to tell our bodies to take time off, so the recovery can happen, but even that does not always prevent the injuries that come with this problem.

How do we prevent overtraining?

    There are many things that you can do to prevent overtraining. I like to prioritize ideas and create routines, so my information and habits are organized. I will give you my top five things I do to prevent overtraining. Hopefully some of these things will be useful to you. 

1. Be in tune with your body. When I say that, I mean listen to what it is telling you. Understand what is normal, use experience to understand what different feelings and conditions are that come up, and recognize when old injuries start to resurface. Experience is the best guide. as a coach, I have learned that I try to teach my athletes what I have learned from experience, so they do not have to suffer as much from over-training as I did when I was younger. I used to over-train a lot. I did not recover as well as I would have liked and just pushed through when I should have been resting. 

2. Know when to rest. rest is key to recovery. More athletes need to recognize this. It helps to have a good coach and medical team that can advise on proper rest and recovery. I say medical team because sometimes small and nagging injuries become big ones because we ignore the need to see a doctor. If you seek the right advice, they will give you the information you need. Resting is part of physical training. However, your mind can still be active. You can study parts of what you train so you can improve. In the case of martial arts, you can analyze strategy, techniques, movements, etc. so you can improve your mental acuity within what you are doing, so when your body is ready you can be even better. The same is true for any sport. 

3. Proper nutrition is key. Eat right. It is that simple. Bad food equals bad recovery. Good food equals good recovery. I could go into a lot of science about it, but that is a topic for another article. Just do your research and learn how to cook decently so you can eat good food. Chips, twinkies, and cookies, will not aid in you becoming a better athlete. I am not saying you cannot indulge yourself once in awhile. That is not my point at all. Just don't make all your meals a fast food special, if you know what I mean. 

4. Sleep. Sleep is different from rest. Sleep is what you do at night, and you should get 7 or more hours at least as an adult. Sleep for kids is even more. Do not fudge on this. This is key to recovery. I know if you are a working adult that tries to balance life, work, etc. then it is tough. Do your best and seek advice if you are not getting the sleep you need, or make an effort to change your schedule so you can get sleep. When you are lacking sleep it is a prime condition for a potential injury or just skipping training. 

5. Recognize you do not need to move mountains or break records every time you train. Your routine of training is one step at a time, and so is progress. You don't break records every time you step out onto the field or the floor. It is an accumulation of experience and knowledge over time. This will go a long way to preventing you from overtraining so you do not miss the next training session because of pointless injuries. 

There is no magic equation that makes training better or more effective. Steady and even progress over time is the most effective way to do it. When that is done, you minimize possibilities of over-training. Remember, when you are hurt, you are forced to take more time off than you would otherwise, so have a plan and be methodical. It is the best way to to train in the long run. 

Joints and the Need for Mobility

 Joint Issues and Fitness

    As both an athlete in multiple sports, and a martial artist, I understand the value of healthy joints and the need for mobility. We often underwork and undervalue our joints in our workouts. Our joints are the points of articulation for our bodies, so it is imperative that we attend to them with care. As every person develops their routine, for sports, fitness, martial arts, or just a physical life, plan to have a way to deal with developing mobility. 

    It is both a blessing and a challenge to be an older athlete. I tell my young athletes, protect yourselves so you can move and be pain free when you are older. I also try to teach that fitness, martials, health and well-being are life long processes that we have to practice weekly and daily, if needed. One of the great things about today's world is the large volumes of information out there that we can use to educate ourselves about how to stay fit and healthy. One of the keys to staying active is having good joints, and exercising those joints appropriately. 

    The photo above is actually the image of one of my knees. You can see the lovely battle scar I have on my knee, from back in the day when surgery was not quite as advanced in correcting injuries. I might have had less scarring if the injury was corrected by today's techniques. Be that as it may, it has provided me some life lessons in how to deal with and appreciate joints and mobility. For the record, so you know, I completely recovered and went on to compete in college track and field, and has a career in martial arts that still is going today. So, that is the good news. Even better news, I have used the lessons in this injury to try to help others with what I have learned with joint care.

    Every joint is different, obviously. Each one has variations in structure, different requirements for movement, different feelings, and the list can go on. However, there are some things in common that every person should be aware of:

            1. Take the time to properly warm up joints and muscles before strenuous exercise.

            2. If you have joint pain and don't know what it is, or don't understand it, take the time to figure                     it out so it can be addressed appropriately.

            3. Be aware of the stresses, and potential stresses on joints when you do an activity, so you can                     protect them appropriately. It will save a lot of pain and down time away from your favorite                     activities.

            4. If you are rehabbing an injury, be sure to work with your doctor or therapist to achieve full                      recovery. 

            5. Be patient when recovering from a joint injury. The injury will recover, just take time to do the                  work and it should respond. If you have questions, always ask your doctor or therapist what is                   happening. That is why they are there. 

    Obviously, I could go on for pages and pages about joint health and its usefulness and importance. I will leave it at that for now. These are just some of my insights as a martial artist, athlete, trainer, and coach. Keep training and find your path. You are doing great!

Nutrition and Maintaining Health

The Importance of Nutrition

    Well, this is certainly a very wide open subject, and a diverse subject. Food and culture go hand-in-hand. Everyone's diet is as diverse and interesting as there are people in the world. Everyone has different likes, preferences, wants, needs, and so much more. So, first of all, there is no one right or wrong way to approach nutrition and diet. Whatever I write here is strictly from my perspective as an athlete and fan of food and how the two have worked together for me. You can take it or leave it. That being said, there are some things a person might want to be aware of as they approach their fitness journey.

    Exercise is great, but it can be enhanced a whole lot more if you are mindful of your food and what you put into yourself. Monitoring a diet takes an additional effort that many people have problems with, and that can be for all kinds of reasons. So any approach a person takes in trying to revamp or monitor their diet, it should be done with a high degree of patience. Food is a bit part of my family's culture and traditions, and eating healthy is important as well. (However there are moments we go for comfort food, don't get me wrong here!) We have a heavy dose of Mediterranean food that we cook in our family, especially from Italy. My great grandmother and grandfather came from Calabria, so there is no escaping pasta, but I am also of the philosophy that balanced diets work really well for most people and that people should not have to starve themselves to achieve fitness goals.

    All that being said, approach food with flexibility and patience. There is no one way to eat to find success. Also, always consult a doctor or nutritionist for your specific needs. I will share what has worked for me and what my insights are with respect to athletics and food, and I hope you find what I have to say of interest. If you have questions, please feel free to email or chat me and I will reply with my best answers. 

    As an older athlete, I find that I personally struggle with keeping calories down at times and portion control. I have also found out, for me, that if I am consistently physically active, and just sensible with my diet and portions, I can feel pretty good about what I eat and cook for myself and my family. Remember, food is fuel for everyone. Food gives us calories to burn, nutrients to function, and plays a vital role in keeping ourselves healthy. A general rule I try to remember, the more processed something is when I buy it, the less nutritional value it has for me. I try to buy whole food the majority of the time. That is not to say you can't buy anything that is processed, but the more processed, the less nutritional value, typically speaking. 

    On top of that, I am a huge fan of food and cooking. I will, from time-to-time, try to share things I cook that I think taste good and might be of help in fueling your fitness journey. Head over to my Instagram channel listed at the bottom to find what I am posting there, in fitness, health, and food. 

    Keep training and you are doing great! If you have a question, send me a chat or a message! Keep training hard!

 

Fitness and Martial Arts

Martial Arts and Fitness

    For years I have been working on these dual paths between fitness and martial arts, trying to understand where they intersect. I have multiple experiences in the world of sports, fitness, and martial arts. I have been doing one or  more of these disciplines for more than 40 years. I have a plethora of experience to draw from and help others in many ways. 

    My first sports were track and basketball in elementary school. I went on to compete in track and field in college, and took up martial arts my first year studying at the university. Since then, I have coached, competed, trained, and developed my skills and understanding of all the different facets of multiple sports and the training requirements needed to maintain and excel on multiple levels. Every person, athlete, and martial artist comes to the table with a different set of skills, needs, and expectations. One of the great benefits of martial arts is the philosophy of life and training. Training is a process and a way of life, something that we grow with and evolves over time. It is this unique philosophy that I bring to my creation of Alameda Kenpo Karate and Fitness. We address the needs of every person and athlete as an individual.

    Every person has a need to for self expression of their skill and craft, be it jumping, running, kicking, martial arts, track and field, soccer, or just general fitness. Movement is an expression of the human experience. It is my goal to help develop the ability of every person to move better, live better, be more healthy, and understand the capabilities of the human body regardless of the context or condition which a person is in or is coming from. 

    Every person has a warrior inside of them. Training brings out that confidence and ability to tackle challenges and become more fit in this world that forces us to adapt and evolve at every turn. Training in sports, fitness, or martial arts is a pathway to becoming more adaptable to the world around you, whatever the case may be. I encourage you to follow this blog, or ever join me, in our training as we develop our potential to take on the world each day, whatever life we are choosing to live. That is what training is about, giving us the stamina, skills, ability, and adaptability to do the best we can at every turn. 

    I am truly happy and excited to be able to help people with their fitness, athletic, or martial arts journey. It is what has helped make me who I am today, and I have met some great people on this path who have enriched my experience in life. Join our family and see what it is like here.