The world of endurance sports … should be simple right? If you are a runner you need to run, if you are a triathlete you need to swim, bicycle and run and if you ski, you ski … yet, the question we must ask ourselves is why do so many of us endurance athletes get injured all the time? Some of us may get plantar fasciitis, others may get chin splints and others may have issues with their TFL (tensor fascia latae).
How does this happen really? From my perspective, we tend to get narrow-minded and focus on doing what we think we need to do … cover more mileage, and more and more and we tend to forget about foundation. Those endurance sports are cyclical sports where you repeat movement over and over again so that means that if you don’t move well enough to start, you may run into pain. If you don’t listen to that pain, it will transfer to and injury in the long run which is equal to time spent away from sport.
Bottom line is first off, listen to your body. Second off, start including some cross training into your routine. If you get screened with the functional movement screen, integrate an exercise routine or a pillar preparation routine into your week that is based on the functional movement screen.
The result from this is that you will reconnect to your body, start moving well enough to stay away from injury (chronic injuries) and you will start becoming more efficient. A strong foundation transfers very well into your sporting endeavours. The question for you is, are you willing to take the time to start becoming a more balanced athlete? You will be surprised at how little it takes to improve movement patterns and how quickly it may transfer for your sport … when you do the right things at the right time.
Happy Training!
Coach Véronique Roberts 