Coach Tip Tuesday: Change the Dose

Once again, it’s time for Coach Tip Tuesday!!

There have been several times over the course of my life that I have been sick enough to require medication.  I’m sure this is the same for each and every one of you, as well.  If you’re like me, then you’ve probably taken some medications that may not have worked as well as intended, or that had side effects that were less than desirable.  When that happened, what did you do to remedy it??  I bet that almost all of you asked your doctor about changing the dose or switching medications.  Am I right?? Doing one of those two things likely would have enabled you to feel better in the long-term, and would have resolved the issues you were having with the medication.

I ask you all now to ask yourselves this:  Why you don’t apply this same line of thinking to exercise when you experience an overload of training and less-than-desirable side effects due to that overload??  Over the years, I have watched SO MANY athletes refuse to change the dose of their exercise (the volume) or switch medications (use other modalities to stay active).  Why is it that we can adopt an adaptable mindset when it comes to illness and medication, but not to exercise and its impact on us??

So this week, I’m encouraging you all to change your dose if you experience an overload in your training.  Overload leads to overtraining, and overtraining leads to burnout and/or injury, which is the absolute worst-case scenario for any endurance athlete.  If you had to be on a particular medication for the rest of your life, you likely would not be taking the same exact dose for the rest of your life.  It would change depending on your life scenarios at a given point in time, and might need to be modified several times over the course of your life.  And you know what??  As long as it keeps you healthy in the long run, it doesn’t matter if it needs to be modified.  The same can be said of your fitness activities.  You want to be active for the rest of your life??  Adopt an adaptable mindset where you are open to changing your dose so that you can stay happy and healthy for the remainder of your days. :)