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INJURIES
Different remedies apply to different injuries.
For instance a groin strain or pulled muscle needs to be treated with
regular massage to the affected area, especially prior to training. Gentle
stretching and low kicking routines will prevent further injury. Tiger Balm is
excellent for all muscular injuries and is readily available from all major high
St. chemists.
Broken ribs on the other hand would need 6-8 weeks to
mend and so sparring should be avoided for this period.
If in doubt ask the advice of a qualified sports injury consultant
preferably with some knowledge of the martial arts.
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OVERTRAINING
AND FITNESS FATIGUE.
There is a point where training for too long at
an intensely high level can be harmful to your health. Fitness fatigue or overtraining can happen to any athlete in
any sport who is training to a high level (it happened to me!).
Training hard and intensely is important too, to gain strength and
stamina for competition but overdoing your training can be more harmful than
doing enough. Moderate levels of
intense training with adequate rest are fine but research has shown that
continual intensity of effort can create danger.
During heavy training sessions the body produces
large quantities of hormones which boost performance e.g. adrenaline, but at the
same time these hormones suppress the immune system and leave the body open to
infection.
During intense training for a competition your
anti-bodies drop by up to 70% and it can take up to 20hrs for the body to
recover which leaves you more prone to infection.
It is also extremely dangerous to train with an
infection e.g. flu as the infection can spread into your heart which in the past
has resulted in fatalities. Rest
can help to mend a damaged immune system and the body will eventually recover
although you may find that your immunity to infection will not quite be as it
was. A permanently depressed immune
system will be very vulnerable to infections that less fit people will shake
off.
The secret to protecting your immune system is
high quality training but for not such a long time. More is not always best; in
fact Roger Bannister first ran the 4-minute mile after his training sessions
which he had to fit in during his lunch hour.
You need to listen to your own body if you feel
under the weather it will help you more to take a break from training that day
than to push it and pick up an infection. If
you keep a regular check on your pulse and your pulse is high on one morning,
then that could mean that you have a virus coming on or that fatigue is setting
in so take a couple of days off to give your body a chance to build up it’s
immunity. By giving your body
adequate rest time it gives you a natural level of immunity, which makes you
less susceptible to infection and gives you good all round health.
There are a couple of hundred viruses around
and only a few are really dangerous. However
when you pick up a virus you never know how dangerous it is, so it is always
wise to stop training to be safe. Along
with rest a good diet, low stress levels in your lifestyle and a sensible
training routine you should develop a robust immune system.
Remember looking after your body is one of the most important assets in
your quest to be a champion.
PREGNANCY
During my pregnancy, with my son Ricky-Lee, I
reverted to going through my kung fu forms nice and gently.
There are obviously things that you cannot do; sparring, bagwork, sit
ups, weight training but that does not mean that you should give up everything
for 9 months. I must emphasise
however, that if I didn’t feel comfortable training then I didn’t exercise,
My baby came first.
My advice is consult your doctor and get
his/her advice as everyone is different and every pregnancy is different.
