Apply These Top Five Methods to Crush Your Training Fatigue

I was at the dojo again, and I was training. Frustrated I looked into the mirror and realized that in spite of all my efforts, I was not getting the gains I was expecting with my weight training program. Not only was the size not coming, but I was more and more lethargic, or tired. It was becoming increasingly difficult to haul my butt out of bed in the morning. Does any of this sound familiar? It wasn’t until I started performing a ton of research that I started to suspect that I was over training?

It may sound strange to some, but you can exercise too much. Especially to a passionate martial artist who has martial training on his mind constantly. It may sound strange or counter intuitive, but like the old cliche says, too much of a good thing is not always good. Like fertilizing a plant, if you overdo it, and you will burn the roots. And so it is with our martial arts training. You can burn yourself out.

If you are getting the signs of fatigue, there are things you can do. The beautiful thing about the martial arts is that not all of your training needs to be physically taxing or exhausting. Look over the following suggestions on how you can recover from martial training fatigue.

• Avoid training intensely for more than an hour at a time. Doing so can spike stress hormones, and they can eat away at your testosterone, and other naturally produced growth hormones that are critical for your recovery.

• Consume a post training snack, or smoothie. Get some fast acting/absorbing protein of choice to feed the body, and aid it in what it wants to do now… repair itself.

• Watch what you eat. The beauty of intense martial arts training, is that we rarely have to worry too much about what we eat for weight gain. The problem arrives when we don’t eat enough of the essential good food our body needs to recover. Look to eat fresh veggies daily, and make them the majority of your plate. Choose the leaner white meats like chicken, turkey, and lean pork. (if you eat meat)

• Again, watch what you eat. There are things you should do, (see above) and things you shouldn’t do, or over do. Avoid, or cut out all together the “white – death” in your diet. Stop the white sugar, stop the white flour, and stop the processed white salt. Cut out processed convenience foods as well. Do all the above for 2 weeks, and see how you feel.

• check your ZZZ’s. How much sleep are you getting, and is it good quality sleep. The standard advice applies here folks. Get enough sleep. Some people need more than others, but to help out, follow these tips.

1. Get at least 7 hours if you are an adult, more if you’re in your teens.
2. The more stress you experience, the more sleep you need.
3. Do you snore? if so, research how to stop.
4. Sleep in as ‘blacked out’ room as possible.
5. avoid light exposure 1 – 2 hours before bed. This is a tough one, as most of us are watching TV to unwind at the end of the night, or are on the computer. Stop this. Read a book on your martial art of choice instead.
6. Don’t drink too much water before bed.
7. Don’t hit the snooze. Get up at first alarm. Going back to bed can put your brain into a different wave pattern, and interrupting it multiple times makes you sleepy, longer.

This is by no means a complete list. Absorb the tips that are useful, and disregard the tips that are not.