Log In
The Overtrained Mom
The Overtrained Mom: A Familiar Daily Routine:
Wake up at the cry of a baby or child, either you or your significant other change a diaper or two (or both of you depending on how gnarly it is), get all the kids fed, brush all the teeth, change the kids into clothes for the day, change a diaper or two again. Place kid (s) in an area where they will not kill themselves, get yourself to drink some coffee, put on some fresh clothes, comb your hair maybe or a bun will do, maybe makeup if you have to see people, or just go natural, if you remember put on deodorant, and use the restroom all before the child starts wailing for their mom. Good thing you intermittent fast because food doesn’t happen for you until late morning, and after your kids are in school or daycare. While you are sad they are leaving you for the day and you have to hand them over to someone else’s care that you barely know, you have some freedom. Now you have to get your mindset prepared for going to work. Perhaps you work from home or an office or both…it depends on if your kids are sick or not. You work for a few hours then your stomach growls and you need to eat. The thought of going to the gym is fleeting because of the large work load you have in front of you that somehow just keeps getting larger. You decide to grab a quick 3-5 mile run before you pick up your kids at the end of the day, but it took a lot of convincing because your energy is lower and there truly is no intention of warming up properly. So you do what you always do, run or WOD with little to no warm up. Sure things ache and hurt and you have not gotten faster or stronger in who knows how long, but that is part of being a mom, right? You are fatigued, tired, but you run or WOD and you do this several days a week. It is the only sanity you have. Then you pick up your kids and the evening routine starts until they are all in bed by 7:30 or 8 o clock. By then you are tired and have to convince yourself to shower. Also for your significant others sake, showering would be nice…..and it keeps going…
Sound familiar?
Guess what? At Movement Rx we are moms, too. We have found that moms can do it all, just not all at once. There is a new normal with children and acceptance of this new normal is the first step. The second step is understanding the need for recovery in your life so you feel good mentally and physically. Not only for yourself but for your significant other and little one.
For a Mom whose only sanity is training everyday with little time for warm up and cool down ( the soothing part of self-care), then overreaching and or overtraining is bound to happen. Recovery is a crucial concept to keep in mind so her hectic life becomes manageable and doable vs stressful.
Here are 5 Things a Mom needs to understand about recovery and to avoid being an overtrained mom:
- Find out if you are in an over-trained state. Do this by testing your resting heart rate in the morning before you grab your crying, yelling, and/or singing child. Click HERE to learn how to test your morning heart rate.
- Keep in mind that the 23 hours you spend in a fight or flight state outside of training – running around in a crazed state – can cause more stress on your tissues than you think. This includes how you sleep. Your sleep matters so if you are not disciplined with training your kids to sleep, this is a solid time to start. Your sleep is hands down the main recovery tool you need to have to stay sane and rested for the long term. If you enter a run and are already running on little sleep and a non-stop kind of day, your body is already taxed. The result is lower energy, power output, and work capacity. A mom can muster strength no doubt, but for how long is the question. Chronic stress has a way of rearing its ugly head years down the line in the form of systemic disease, tears, sprains, strains, or other joint aches and pains.
- Remember your age matters. As you age your tissues become less elastic and are in need of longer recovery time. Programming in 2 days a week of rest is smart practice (even more if you are not sleeping 7.5 to 8 hours a night).
- The warm up and cool down in a workout is crucial. If you go in cold, your tissues take a long time to warm up and are less likely to perform and support your musculoskeletal system when warm. If you do not cool them down with some gentle mobility, your body gets stiff and remains that way until you train or move again. The stiffness can turn into strains and sprains due to the lack of elastic response from not taking care of your much needed engine of a body.
- How you move matters. What are your movement patterns like, not just running but when working and around the house with your family? How are you picking up your kids? How are you sitting or standing while working.
If you feel like any of the above resonates with you please reach out for help. We can guide you on this journey and help you find ways to manage your day so your life has room for self-care. Sometimes you just need a coach. Guess what? We get it!
Good news for you, we have a bundle offer that includes 1 of our 8 week low back, shoulder, or knee fix programs along with one on one care from one of the Movement Rx Doctors of Physical Therapy. If you are not in San Diego, you are still in luck as our programs are digital and we can offer you virtual programs. Go to https://offers.movement-rx.com/mrx-package to learn more.
For more details on overtraining in moms, watch the videos below.
Part 1: Overview of Moms Who Over-trained:
Part 2: Measuring Nervous System Sensitivity through Morning Heart Rate Testing in Moms Who are Over-trained:
Part 3: Warm Up and Cool Down Principles for Moms Who are Over-Trained:
Part 4: They Keys to Sleep for Moms Who are Over-Trained:
To learn more about overtraining click here: The Over-Trained Athlete & What to Do About It
Picture resource: https://www.waddingtonchiropractic.com/blog/overtraining-in-athletes