How much can you push your Limits before risking Injury?

© 2011 Heinz R. Gisel

Does this sound familiar to you: I have often wondered when I was about to call it quits: "Am I truly exhausted or just too lenient on myself?" On one hand, I wanted to discipline myself and improve my performance, but on the other hand I wanted to avoid injury and organ failure. I'm glad to say, I was able to forestall injury all my life, but the lingering thought remains, could I have performed better, could I have won the race, ran that Marathon in a half hour less, maybe?

So I was always looking for a way to find out. The doctor at the extended annual physical exam put me on a treadmill with the 12 lead ECG, but he could only tell me that my heart is OK, not what my limits are. That is because we are used to measure Disease, not Health and Energy.

We live in a fast paced, cut-throat competitive world and in this setting, a lot of parents dream of seeing their kids as Olympic Gold Medalists, or as the next Tour de France or Wimbledon champion. They impose their wishes onto their kids and subject them to ambitious training regiments without ever knowing if they can ever prevail in that chosen sport discipline. But it should be clear that a 5'4" short boy will be an unlikely LA Lakers Basketball Hero and a 90 lbs 18 year old will more likely succeed as Jockey than as a Sumo Yokozuna. Likewise, not everyone has a physiology like Lance Armstrong and even the most optimized training may never ever produce his legendary performance.

Now, the most basic off all questions is: Are there Physical Limits - or is it your Mind that sets them? This remains arguably an open-ended topic; but for the objective of preventing injury and chronic disease, we must assume there are limits and we must be able to identify them.

Who must know

• Athletes training for a competitive Event where the record to break is known

• Parents who want to coach their kids to become champions

• Applicants for a professional career in physically demanding jobs (Firefighters, Police, Marines)

• Adults who are afraid to enter into physical exercise for the first time

   

Why you must know

• to prevent Injury or permanent organ failure - instantly or many years later

• to prevent your Mind from luring you into "convenience limits"

• to be able to set the perfect pace for reaching your goal or dream

   

When should you know

• prior to entering into the athletic discipline of your choice (Cycling, Swimming, Riding, Triathlon, etc.)

• before entering into a training program with the goal of breaking the status quo record

• prior to applying for a physically daunting career job

   

What you need to know

• are you physically up to the task - do you have the physical ability to reach your goal

• do you have any hidden physical limitations that preclude you from prevailing

• what is the current benchmark I want to push and do I have the physiological capacity

   

Where can you find out

• read what and how to test your physical abilities for reaching your life's dream and objective

• an upscale Gym or at the "ACSM" American College of Sports Medicine

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