What You Need to Know About Achieving Peak Athletic Performance
In an effort to reach maximum athletic shape, some individuals can over-do the training and find themselves feeling run-down and sluggish. Maintaining a balanced exercise and training regimen is vital to staving off injuries and to achieving the best results. Sometimes, however, athletic performance levels off or even drops. When this occurs, athletes should listen to their bodies.
Shakthi Health and Wellness Center’s sports performance program helps athletes meet their goals through personalized fitness and wellness programs. There are many factors that can negatively affect an athlete’s success and health, and our board-certified medical team and experienced athletic trainers have helped many athletes experiencing a decline in performance get back in the game.
Top Reasons Performance Levels Fall
Many athletes we see find that their performance levels top off and/or fall as a result of over-exercising or due to nutritional deficiency. Sometimes, it’s a combination of both factors. Signs that you may be over-exerting and stressing out your body during training can include:
- You easily fatigue.
- Muscle cramps and spasms occur more frequently; this can be caused by nutrient depletion or deficiency as well as dehydration.
- Sleep disturbances occur. You may experience periods of insomnia even though you feel tired or you feel more tired than usual. Sleep is essential for recovery after training which is why it’s important to get enough rest between work-outs.
- Your resting heart rate goes up. This is a sign that your body is taxed as a result of overtraining.
- It takes longer to recover after a work-out. When your body is over-stressed and over-worked, it will take longer for your system to bounce back between trainings. An over-taxed body is also more prone to infection.
- You experience mood changes and increased sensitivity to stress, both physical and emotional.
- Your overall performance falls. Bodies that are over-worked can only take so much. Pushing yourself to the limit can result in sub-par performance.
The bottom-line is this: listen to your body. Your body will give you signs when you?re overdoing it at any age. Achieving a balance between physical exercise, diet and nutrition as well as rest and recovery will help you remain at the top of your athletic game.
Learn more about achieving top sports performance in Part III: Take Your Sports Performance To The Next Level: Combining Wellness With Advanced Technology ?
Drs. Jyothi and Sudhir Rao have partnered with 368 Athletics Performance Training Center to deliver personalized programs for athletes? needs and goals. Learn more about Shakthi’s Sports Performance Program and how our team can take your health and your game to the highest level.
Call Shakthi Health and Wellness Center today to schedule a sports performance consultation at 301-703-5067.