Think of your body as a high-performance engine. You wouldn’t overfill it with gas (excessive training) or starve it of fuel (inadequate training), right? Instead, you need the right balance to keep everything running smoothly.
Here’s a simple athlete monitoring framework that can help:
✅ Step 1: Identify the Most Vulnerable Tissue
Before diving into a new workout or rehab program, pinpoint the weakest link in your body. Is it your muscles, tendons, bones, or joints? Each tissue type responds differently to training, so knowing where you’re most at risk helps you adjust your workload wisely.
✅ Step 2: Monitor Your Response to Load
The only way to know if your training is effective is by tracking how your body reacts.
🔹 Feeling stronger and pain-free? You’re on the right track!
🔹 Experiencing fatigue, soreness, or stiffness beyond normal? Time to adjust!
Pro tip: If your actual recovery doesn’t match your expected response, it’s a red flag that your training needs tweaking.
✅ Step 3: Keep Non-Injured Tissues Healthy
Injuries don’t mean complete rest! Other muscles and tissues still need movement and activation to stay strong. For example:
🚴 Cycling for runners with knee pain
🏋️♂️ Upper body strength work for athletes with ankle injuries
Instead of focusing on what you can’t do, shift your mindset to what you CAN do!
✅ Step 4: Maintain Overall Fitness (Global Capacity)
When one area is injured, it’s important to train around it. Why?
🔹 Prevents muscle loss
🔹 Keeps your hormones optimized for healing
🔹 Helps you bounce back stronger and faster
This approach is why elite athletes stay in shape even when injured—they don’t stop training, they just adjust their program!