Maintenance - When the body is sore

So you wake up in the morning and your calf muscles are aching, or you had a lengthy swim set the night before and now your shoulders and upper back feel like one tough piece of steak... Perhaps these and similar symptoms have resulted after days and weeks of consistent training.. How can we prevent this?

Honestly, the aches and pains are justification of strenuous training, a natural by-product. Its almost impossible to not endure "soreness" at some point during training, or for that matter after a tough race! Your body has pushed itself beyond its threshold, only to lift your threshold to a new level.

Ones normal reaction to pain is to have it sorted out AFTER it has already become apparent to us - this is unfortunately sometimes too late, especially if we are in the middle of an important training period and are forced to lay off so as to give our body time to recover... Together with a consistent training program, especially one that includes periods of rest in between training cycles, the athlete should consider a form of "body maintenance" during this period... allow me to elaborate...

If your training picks up in intensity, your body will no doubt start to feel the onset of fatigue, muscle aches and strains. It would be ideal at some point during your rest week/period to have a massage to release spasms & strains that if left alone, may result in something more serious, such as mild muscle tears. Your body will be utilising different muscle groups within the three disciplines and as such would require treatment (massage) to alleviate lactic build up in the muscles. Together with supplements that may contain sufficient levels of L-Glutamine, this should allow you to continue with your training at the required intensity.

Little things such as a massage, or visit to the physio/chiropractor for general body maintenance will increase your training period longevity.

Don't forget to look after your body, like a car needs a service to continue performing, so does your body require a check up from time to time in order to operate efficiently...and allow you to train for longer periods.