there’s a fine line between pushing yourself and pushing yourself too much. knowing when you’re doing the latter is often not as simple as it seems.
many of you following my posts have probably seen the hard work i’ve been putting in to come back from my surgery 8 weeks ago. i was hoping that by pushing my body, i could come back and close the gap between where my teammates were and where i would be.
but you can’t trick physiology. and overloading is a real thing. as athletes, there’s this hidden belief that unless your body is sore, you’re not working hard enough. but as my physio said to me, the goal is not to need “rest” days, the goal is to be able to exercise every day.
unfortunately, i retreated to former habits and i pushed my body probably a bit much. i was feeling tightness in my quad on monday, but i thought through rest, ice, beach therapy, and massage, that would resolve the problem. i was wrong.
i’m also human though. i got caught up in the hype of my “first game back” on friday. i ignored the warning signs and i traded short term glory for a longer term pain. there is a time and a place for this, but that time and place is usually during finals. not during season.
so any time you feel a niggle, listen to it. and don’t just listen by resting, listen by adjusting your workload. the quickest way is the long way - when you try to rush the process, something will always compensate. be patient, take your time, and take it easy. the game isn’t going anywhere.