The Fatigue Question

Fatigue and what does that mean? Probably one of the most common comments I hear is something around the topic of feeling tired. First let’s identify if that comment is coming from a place of happiness to feel that, fear of that feeling, upset about that feeling or just acceptance. 

Ask:

~ Is this just a new sensation I’m not familiar with?

~ Is this in line with the training, life and sleep that I’ve had?

~ What specifically do I mean when I say fatigue, is it sleep, muscles, system, what specifically are you feeling.

~ Is it out of line with what’s expected ?

~ Is my health good? ( if there are underlying health issues that is different and must be addressed)

Your specific level of fatigue sensations are unique to you. It can be based on what you have been exposed to over time and what feels familiar to you. It changes with exposure, growth and as you become stronger.  What feels very tiring and hard at one point in your training can feel normal at another point in your career. Something can feel very hard the first time you are experiencing it, then once you are conditioned to it that same thing feels very easy, you’ve grown. 

With building fitness fatigue is a necessary part of the process. Without fatigue we don’t build fitness. When we are in this part of the build it can be tough on our confidence and mind because you might not feel good, your numbers might be slower, harder, things don’t feel like you’re improving. But it truly is a necessary part of the growth to become fitter, stronger and push that line forward. In this phase it’s important to ask if the sensations you feel are in line with the level of work you’re doing? If they are, then it's great, and you should be excited to be moving that barrier forward. We know that once you finish this phase and recovery is brought in you’ll be in a new category of fitness from where you were. 

These sensations can be even scary the first time you feel them.  “Is this normal?”, and 99.9% of the time it is completely normal. 

Understanding that fatigue is part of growth can be very helpful for a lot of athletes as they monitor their training blocks. Be sure to follow your blocks of hard work with appropriate rest and you will keep getting stronger.

Cheers,

M.