Simon Ward writes Consistent training is one of the most important factors in the development of any athlete. In the eyes of many coaches it ranks even higher than natural talent.

How can you ensure that you maintain a consistent volume of training not only for a period of months but over many years? First let’s look at the most common reasons that training is interrupted:

• #1. INJURY - In endurance athletes these are often overuse injuries which can occur as a result of building up the training too quickly or maintaining too high a training volume without adequate rest. Injuries can also result from biomechanical problems or from a trauma such as a fall or collision. In all cases it is essential that you take notice of any early warning of problems that could develop into an injury;
• #2. LACK OF MOTIVATION – This can occur when a training programme lacks variety or when the athlete is feeling particularly jaded. One sign of potential overtraining is when the athlete starts to feel that training is boring or monotonous. A periodised training schedule is one way of overcoming this;
• #3. ILLNESSES – Minor ailments such a sore throat or a sniffle do not need to bring your training to a halt. However it is wise to take heed of them and back off the intensity a touch. Failing to recognise a potential problem and attempting to train through it can lead to more serious problems later on. For instance the sore throat and sniffle can develop into a full-blown cold resulting in several days of missed training and another few days of easy training. There are many athletes who have lost 4-6 weeks from training because they didn'’t stop soon enough and then just couldn’t shake off a cold.

The Overtraining Predictor
The table below has a number of questions that you should ask yourself every morning.

Simply assign a score to each health factor on a daily basis where:

1= excellent, 3 = average, 5= very poor

It may take a few days for you to correctly gauge your feelings so that you know what is good or bad. For instance what might feel like a good night’s sleep (which gets a 1 rating) might be surpassed by the next night, which relegates the previous night’s score to a 2.

You should circle the score that is most appropriate for each day and then total in the right-hand column.

The daily score should then guide you about your training for that day by indicating potential problems.

WHAT THE DAILY TOTALS MEAN:

<15 = TRAIN AS NORMAL
15 - 24 = LIGHT TRAINING ONLY
24 -30 = TAKE A DAY OFF

As an example, the table above shows two days in the life of an athlete.

In day 1 sleep quality was poor, fatigue level was average, joint soreness was quite high and general stress levels were quite high. All of these could point towards a future problem and with a cumulative score of 19 the sensible athlete, on their own or in consultation with their coach, would take it easy in training that day.

Having done so we can see that the scores on day 2 are all much better with a total of 10 and the athlete could train as planned. You should be constantly assessing your physiological responses to training and be prepared to take a less than rigid approach to your programme (i.e. just because a hard run is programmed don’t do it regardless of how you feel!!)

Of course in order for this to be successful it requires an individual who:

• Listens to their body
• Consults with their coach on a regular basis
• Takes a pro-active approach in the face of warning signs

Completing the form should take less than a minute each morning but could save you far more time and frustration in the long run!

Remember: CONSISTENCY IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS