TRAINING
When training more isn’t the answer Steve Bird
In most circumstances, in order to get physically fitter for our sport, we need to train hard and often. That is provided that the training we’re doing is the right type and suitable for our needs. Doing this over a period of weeks, months and years, will achieve a good level of fitness, which if coupled with good navigational skills, good mental skills such as coping with competitive pressure and being able to concentrate throughout an event, will produce good results. When we’re not competing up to our capabilities, and we analyse the reasons, it’s usually a lack of fitness, navigation, mental skills, or a combination of all three that are letting us down. In all sports everyone has good days and bad days. These fluctuations are to be expected, making sports such as Orienteering unpredictable and to a certain extent more competitive. In some cases a bad day may turn into a string of poor performances, and you may be able to identify the reasons why; such as being too busy to train, or being distracted by something else happening in your life. Knowing the cause means that you can explain the 16 THE AUSTRALIAN ORIENTEER MARCH 2008
below par performance and know what needs to be done to rectify it. However sometimes, you or an orienteer you know, may be training hard and working on the different aspects of their Orienteering skills, but are suffering from a prolonged dip in form and just can’t reach the level that they should be capable of. In these circumstances the cause may not be so obvious and the answer may not be more and harder training. This article attempts to outline a few of the possible causes that may explain prolonged under-performance.
Prolonged under-performance You may be able to recall periods when you’ve suffered from a series of poor performances. At the same time you may have found training harder work than usual, and a bit of a slog, and in competition you could not produce the kind of results that you knew you were capable of. The underlying factors behind this prolonged under-performance may be physical and/or psychological, including: 1. Growth or ageing; 2. Overtraining, over-competing and staleness; 3. Nutritional deficiencies; 4. Illness; 5. Sociological pressures.
