How Much Is Too Much?

I love tennis, and right now the US Open is in full swing! I will log many hours by my television with my laptop or a book in hand while tennis is on, I just can't seem to get enough of the athleticism and finesse these athletes exude.

This year's tennis tournaments seem to be plagued by their own sports scandal, but it has nothing to do with steroids or gambling. This plague is a simple but deadly demon: over training injuries. Consider this: the tennis season begins in January and runs through September. There are four major events, but many, many additional tournaments all year long to help player ranking as well as income levels.

The US Open Series runs almost CONTINUALLY from July 17Th until September 9Th, with some tournament actually overlapping start and end dates. Now, if you are one of the players on tour you are playing, with very little recovery time, continuously throughout the ENTIRE season....so it is no wonder the athletes are plagued with injury.

The sport of tennis has constant repetitive motion, on various hard, soft or slick surfaces, and the matches last from 90 minutes up till 4 hours or longer, mostly in the heat and humidity of the summer sun.

Some of the top names, if not most, are suffering from chronic stress related injuries, and one top ranked player, Kim Clijsters, has retired because of the exhaustive schedule.

So what is my point to all this? It is a perfect example of what over training or singular (one method) training can do to the human body. So why are you still taking the SAME spinning class you have for the past 3 years???? Your body has to be wearing down physically after so much repetition, not to mention that your body has mastered that motion and does not burn as much fat as it used to. Cross training, in every area of your fitness routine, is crucial. So get out there, try new classes, use new equipment, find out what those huge beach balls and half balls are in the anyway...then use them a few times. (BTW, the half ball is a BOSU and one of my favorite pieces of equipment)

You may be both surprised and relieved by the results. As they say, variety is the spice of life!

Have a healthy day!