Is Competing Every Week Detrimental To Your Health?
A lot of people enjoy a daily run, and as such, they start competing every week. They do this because competing against themselves or others makes them feel excited and happy. But competing each week can lead to risks associated with physical and mental problems.
As a result, runners must remember that exercising to the extreme is not good, and instead of helping them to improve their performance, competing can make their health and race times worse. Therefore, its helpful to consider some useful advice before you decide if you should enter a competition or not.
Can you compete every week?
No, it’s not advisable to compete every week, as with each passing day, this could make your performance worse. This happens because your body can’t recover from continuous effort and you could begin experiencing discomfort, resulting in injuries or negative consequences for your health.
Negative effects of competing excessively each week
Competing each week can bring negative consequences for your body, such as:
- A decrease in physical performance
- Fatigue
- Muscle injuries
- High blood pressure
- Lack of appetite
- Apathy
- Depression
- Crankiness
- Insomnia
- Chronic joint and muscle pain
Useful advice to give your body some rest
It’s important that you learn to listen to your body, because only your body can tell you how tired you are. Therefore, if you’re planning on competing every week or even for a few weeks, you’ll have to reduce your training. That’s why we recommend these tips to allow your body to rest:
- You need time and patience for your muscles to go back to their original state and to be able to start training again.
- You must plan and carefully select all of the races that you want to take part in.
- On the days leading up to the race you’ll most likely feel nervous and stressed. So, try to rest and have enough sleep.
- Try to clear your mind by looking at a beautiful landscape, riding your bike or any other activity that you enjoy. This way you can release psychological tension.
How to prepare the week before a competition
You’re at the final stage and your body has had enough rest to stand up to the challenge. So, you must keep working out, but do it at a moderate pace, so that your body doesn’t cool off. When it’s time to compete it’ll be the moment of truth and your nerves will be on the edge.
You may also doubt yourself or experience some cramping, but don’t worry. This is normal, and will disappear after a relaxing massage.
Here are some useful tips for the week leading up to a competition:
- Don’t change your workout routine, remember that your body is now used to a strict training program.
- If you missed a training day, take it easy and don’t overwhelm your body, your progress won’t be lost.
- Eat a balanced diet. This is a fundamental part of your training.
- Don’t eat heavy meals in the week leading up to your competition, as this could cause digestion problems.
- You must follow a balanced diet for a few months before the competition. You can find many nutritious recipes in the Internet.
- Drink plenty of water on the days before the competition, this will help you to stay hydrated at all times.
- Check out where the competition is going to take place; hot weather may impact your performance negatively.
- Prepare the clothes that you’ll wear to the competition beforehand. Comfortable socks, shirts and shoes etc.
In conclusion, competing every week is not beneficial for your body, as you could injure yourself and this could stop you from reaching your goals. Remember that the only way to keep exercising is by respecting and listening to your body.
This way, you’ll become an excellent athlete and understand that you can’t compete every week. You’re not a machine! By getting enough rest, you’ll also be able to get the best performance from your mind and body.