Overcoming Training Camp Soreness

The physical toll on the body and mind makes offensive line play unique unto itself. Unfortunately, there is no full proof method to avoid training camp soreness. You can, however, put your body and mind in the best position possible to minimize this soreness and the wear and tear it inflicts.

Hydration
Water is the single largest component of the human body due to its role in life-giving bodily functions. If you are not drinking enough water, these functions will not be optimal and soreness cannot be healed as quickly. Some of these functions are body temperature regulation, flushing waste products, transporting nutrients, joint lubrication and cushioning, and providing the optimal intracellular environment for metabolic functions to occur. What’s the difference between your muscles and beef jerky? Well, besides you not being bovine, survey says…water!

Myofascial Release
This includes rolling out, stretching, and traction of your muscles and connective tissue. When a muscle loses its suppleness, the domino effect is felt throughout the body. Neighboring muscles compensate in a ripple effect and the mobility of joints is affected. Have a weekly routine so that the entire body is addressed regularly.

Warmup Properly
Through myofascial release, you get to know your body on a more intimate level. You understand when something doesn’t feel right and this transfers to your warmup. A warmup is meant to decrease the chance of injury by properly lubing the muscles, joints, and CNS. However, team warmups do not properly warm up anyone. They are just a show for the head coach. This is because everyone has different needs. For example, one player needs to spend extra time warming their hip flexors than a teammate who needs to focus more on their ankles and calves. You need “to feel comfortable in your own skin” in order to perform optimally. Warm up before the team warmup by doing a routine that meets your needs and then do the team thing. A smoother running body will incur less wear, tear, and soreness.

Get Enough Sleep
You need sleep for your body to rebuild and your CNS to be refreshed to take on the challenges of the day. Uninterrupted sleep allows your body to totally focus on healing and rebuilding itself. A fresh CNS is what coordinates body movements optimally and maintains healthy hormonal levels. If your body and CNS are regularly sleep deprived, they can go into a deficit called overtraining which further breaks your body down and can take weeks to remedy. Get enough sleep and avoid this rabbit hole.

Nourish Yourself
Eating properly provides the building blocks for the healing and rebuilding processes. Processed foods and low quality ingredients increase inflammation, negatively affect the gut microbiome, and hurt your body composition. These things are more man-made chemicals than actual food. Your stomach may feel full, but you are lacking in nourishment. You aren’t nourishing yourself if you eat things that look like food, but act like anti-food once it enters your body. If you aren’t one already, become a food label reader and protect your most valuable possession.

Think Ahead
It’s too late for this one now, but if you’ve been paying attention, this is a no-brainer. A well-trained body can do more work before breakdown and soreness sets in than an untrained body. The off-season is when you can make inroads into improving your strength, power, mobility, conditioning, body composition, skill acquisition, and lifestyle choices. Training from June to training camp will work if the season is eight weeks long. What you do in January will help you through the entire season. Plan ahead so you’ll be best prepared to overcome training camp soreness.