01/19/09
Getting Back Into the Routine
For the majority of us, the holidays are a time of relatively high social stress, and an increase in "non-training" time commitments that make it easy to slip out of regular training schedules while we put others first. The challenge in the New Year is to re-focus on keeping ourselves healthy and happy while we pursue our goals for 2009.
Category: Training
Posted by: ryan
GETTING BACK INTO THE ROUTINE
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! And that’s it: the end of ’08 and the beginning of a brand new year called 2009. For many, the New Year is a time of self-reflection, when we evaluate the “old” of the past year and develop insight about ourselves and what we might like to change in the coming year. At one time or another, we’ve all made the famed (or dreaded!) New Year’s Resolutions. And, of course, making them has never been the problem; it’s keeping them that trips most of us up.
Considering all of the activities that are continually shaping our lives, it is easy to understand how we can get off track when it comes to focusing on our goals. And, oddly enough, it is often our goals to take care of ourselves that get pushed to the back burner first. The majority of us tend to be givers, and the idea that we should put the needs of others before those of ourselves has been taught to us since we could understand the concept.
Ironically, this is in essence a self-destructive behavior. If, through trying to help others we ultimately neglect ourselves and become ill or injured, then we eliminate our own ability to help the people who need us most. The challenge in this New Year of 2009 should be to take care of our own personal health issues, especially if we have strayed off course with respect to the health care and training goals we set for ourselves in 2008.
There are a number of reasons to see a physician or therapist sooner regarding a health care issue rather than putting it off for another week, month, or year. Our body is built to adapt to the stresses that are placed upon it, and when an injury is left untreated, our body will begin to consider this as the “normal” state, and will begin to adapt accordingly. Abnormal joint mechanics and compensation patterns are then generated, and these are repeated as the new “normal” until corrected. The longer the patterns are left to repeat, the harder they become to break in order to return to normal function.
Be sure to give yourself time with a chronic injury, and don’t expect a quick fix. Adhering to a treatment plan or a specific exercise regimen is the key to changing muscle patterns and to causing your body to adapt and accept its original mode of functionality as the proper one. Chances are your symptoms will not resolve overnight, especially if the injury has been bothering you for a number of months.
If you’ve fallen out of your routine for maintaining your health, the New Year is a great time to re-affirm your goals, take inventory of your health, and take the steps necessary to put yourself back on track to a healthier lifestyle.