By the middle of the season, you’re probably feeling exhausted in some form or another. Sore, tired, worn, and mentally down are a few ways athletes feel as their seasons peak. You love the sport, so why is it so difficult to find the motivation to go to practice some days?
It’s simple: you’re just burned out. Mentally and physically, a long season will take its toll even on the most elite athlete. Two to three games a week, 4-5 practices on top of team workouts and video sessions, is a commitment non-athletes struggle to comprehend. It’s totally normal to feel stretched thin, especially if you’re juggling school, work, friends, and family life as well as a high-performance sports schedule.
How do the world’s most elite athletes monitor their burnout and find a way to push through and keep performing at a high level? Here are some tips on managing yourself during the season to better reduce burnout, and mentally and physically reset to stay in top form.
Stretch/Recovery
As athletes we should be stretching and doing recovery work at least two times for every one time we play or practice. Almost nothing is more important to your physical health during the season than stretching! If you struggle to find time to stretch, right before you perform and right after are the easiest times to get into a good stretching routine. An hour a day combined will drastically reduce your soreness and make you quicker and faster in everything you do.
If you haven’t already, invest in recovery tools such as a foam roller, Thera Gun, Thera Cane, and resistance bands. Rolling out and rubbing those sore muscles will get the blood flowing again and help them recover faster. The Best Recovery Tools For Athletes.
Hydrate
Whenever you stretch, you need to hydrate! Sore muscles that get loosened up through deep tissue massage and rolling out need to be rehydrated immediately. If they aren’t, they will tighten right back up. Hydrating also means quicker recoveries after exertion, feeling less tired throughout the day, and a much easier time waking up in the morning. Pedialyte and electrolyte powders are great ways to maximize hydration.
Visit Your Trainer
Not everyone has one, but if you do…visit your trainer! Most colleges, prep schools, and high schools have an athletic trainer. Athletic trainers (ATs) are highly qualified professional who’s job is to help diagnose, treat, and guide athletes through injuries, PT, and recovery. Your AT can be your best friend during the season. Any soreness, bumps, bruises, tightness, or injuries can be diagnosed and handled by the AT, and while you may not always like their answer, their goal is to make sure you are healthy and able to perform at 100%.
Visiting your AT weekly for treatment and/or recovery is one of the best ways to avoid mid-season burn out.
Meditation/Journaling
Read the “Athletic Benefit of Meditation”
The purpose of meditation is to slow life down and experience the present moment. Easy right? Not at all! But during the season you can feel like life is moving a mile a minute. There’s no time to slow down and appreciate where you are, or even think, and often, this is the leading cause of the athlete burnout. Taking 5-10 minutes a day to sit, reflect, and recharge can do wonders for your mental state. Stressed out and anxious before a game? Gameday mediation is big among pro athletes and can help settle down your racing thoughts and get you ready to perform.
Try Out Guided Meditation On YouTube
Journaling is of the same cut as meditation. Sometimes, putting your thoughts onto paper can help reduce the noise in your head. During the season, to “go-go-go” schedule can leave you stressed and not feeling much like yourself. Grabbing a blank page and jotting down a few sentences can help you come back to reality and focus your thoughts.
Take journaling a step further and write down your game preparation and post-game reaction/reflection. Use this pre-templated game journal to get yourself started.
Spend Some Time Away From the Game
The last, but most important way to prevent mid-season burnout is the hardest one for athletes to do: spend time away from the sport you love. Seems impossible right? Trust me, it’s not. When you’re not at the rink, field, court, or gym, have a hobby that can occupy some of your time. Guitar, reading, video games, writing, culinary skills, model trains; find a hobby other than something related to your sport.
This time away from the game is so important to have. The more you think about the game outside of the physical confines of where it’s played, the more stressed, burned out, and mentally fatigued you’ll feel. Having an escape from the stressful season gives you the ability to recharge, reset, and enjoy some time to yourself without the pressures of the season pushing down on you. Spend thirty minutes to an hour away from the sport every day, you’ll see a huge difference in your mental mindset.
As athletes, we are tuned to “go-go-go” and never rest. Let’s change that mentality now. Take time for yourself, work on recovering your sore muscles, put your mental state first, and find ways to escape the game, even it’s just a few minutes a day.
