How much time a week do you spend stressing about different things in life?
- Injury
- School
- Family Issues
- Finances
- Relationships
All of the listed things above can cause stress to an athlete, and in reality it can cause stress to anyone not just athletes. The key for athletes though is to do everything in their power to calm these stresses down as quickly as possible.
Stress Does Effect Performance
Many athletes are unaware of the fact that stress does affect the ability to perform day and day out. Learning to manage stress not only can increase performance, but it can drastically increase recovery time also. While not only allowing your mind to be clearer to focus on the things you want to focus on.
It is key to remember that a lot of the benefits of training take place when sleeping. The issue here is that stress releases hormones that do not promote healthy sleeping and muscle growth. This goes against everything athletes are training for. Stress also can cause depression which can take away from an athlete’s motivation to be better. Never mind the fact in times of stress you are most susceptible to sustaining an injury.
How to Manage Stress
- Settle issues as quickly as possible
- Never let an issue drag out because you are focusing on sports as it will drag your performance down with it
- If stress cannot be removed than adjust training
How to Adjust Training to Stress
- Reduce duration of workout for the day(s)
- Reduce the volume of the workout(s)
- Increase nutrient intake
- Decrease the frequency of your training
At the end of the day stress will be a part of everyone’s life it is just a fact. It can be managed to help you succeed as an athlete. Things could go horrible in your life and have youstressed out beyond belief, and if you think training on top of this will help you, think again.
Stress also has the ability to naturally override your body’s natural defense mechanisms for fighting sickness. Think about this, if you are stressed out and train your body hard at the same time you are basically begging to get sick. When you add all these negative things together it is not a good thing at all.
(original image by M@aritess)
