The constant load on the body during wakeboarding can have some devastating effects.
How do you know you are overtraining?
1. You aren’t progressing, you are actually regressing. If you can no longer land the tricks you normally land, it takes more effort to do what was normally simple or routine, or if you feel sluggish with nothing to attribute it to (hang-over, heavy crosstraining, extended period off the water), you may be overtraining.
2. You feel restless, anxious, or have trouble sleeping. “When a power athlete overtrains, the sympathetic nervous system dominates. Symptoms include hyperexcitability, restlessness, and an inability to focus (especially on athletic performance), even while at rest or on your off day. Sleep is generally disturbed in sympathetic-dominant overtrained athletes, recovery slows, and the resting heart rate remains elevated. Simply put, the body is reacting to a chronically stressful situation by heightening the sympathetic stress system’s activity levels.”
3. Your muscles and joints hurt. Constant overuse can contribute to stress fractures, muscles strains, and an early onset of degeneration due to the constant forces on the body without any time for recovery. Muscles, especially, undergo Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS), after an intense workout and may not show up until a few days after the initial workout, but can also be easily confused with improper training techniques or a microtrauma. It is important to differentiate the two, so any minor injuries can be given proper time and treatment to heal.
4. You are tired, have lost your appetite, lost muscle mass, and are irritable. Not a great combo, but are some tell-tale signs you’ve been training too hard.
So, what to do?
Make sure you have at LEAST one day off completely. No activity. Schedule cross-training and yoga/stretching/foam rolling so that the activity that requires the most effort (wakeboarding) is first, and the optional activities happen later. This will help prevent injuries caused by wakeboarding while fatigued.
Listen to your body. If you are sore, in pain, fatigued etc. take the day off or commit to doing a lighter activity.
Use modalities like heat and ice, as well as proper nutrition and hydration to keep your body functioning at its highest potential. Massage, acupuncture, and chiropractic treatments are beneficial to help recovery times and aid in minor injuries.
Keep an eye out for warning signs to prevent any serious damage or injury.
