As ultra trail running is gaining more and more followers and the Olympic Games are fast approaching, here’s how to become a top athlete without getting hurt.
During the Assises du Muscle, Dr. Stéphane Bermon, director of the Health and Science department at the International Athletics Federation, listed the main rules that must be followed if you want to become a high-level athlete without hurt.
“The goal of physical training for a top athlete is to improve performance”, clarified to start the sports doctor. “This is part of a physiological principle which is the rupture of homeostasis”, he completes.
“Workouts should of course be tailored to each sport, but some general rules still apply,” continues the specialist, before listing the following precepts:
– Make the stimuli you give in workouts large enough to include a muscle disturbance followed by a response (and vice versa). “If you never do sports and I make you run 30 kilometers in the first training, things are not going to go well. Conversely, if you run 15 km a day and I make you walk 30 minutes daily instead, it will not have a positive impact on your performance”, explains Stéphane Bermon.
– Repeat these stimuli over time.
– Incorporate progressiveness. “As the body adapts, you have to give it harder and harder things to do” he develops.
– Avoid the monotony of sports sessions. “Someone who always does the same thing will not progress after a while. Repetition is also the door to overtraining” adds the doctor.
– Respect an order in the execution of the exercises. “For example, tasks that require speed, coordination and precision should be done first, while those related to endurance and aerobics should be done as the second part of training,” details our scientist.
– Integrate technical work. “Progressing in a sport also involves learning gestures, because the muscle is controlled by the brain”, he indicates.
– Allow sufficient time for recovery. “It is often overlooked and causes a lot of patients to be seen. Recovery must be an integral part of training. Sufficient time must be given to restore energy reserves and muscle damage, otherwise you are going to injury. “, emphasizes Stéphane Bermon.
– Have a healthy lifestyle (nutrition, sleep, etc.). “For example, it is necessary to avoid blue light from screens at bedtime in order to promote recovery”, says the sports doctor. “There is indeed a direct link between the quality of sleep and the number of infections that a athlete may have”, he continues.
– Find a good psychological balance. “When you are a top athlete, mental balance is difficult to find and easy to break. These enthusiasts experience very strong emotional charges and can have difficulty maintaining a social life, which explains the importance of psychological problems in this environment”, concludes the expert.
