Young Athlete In Need of HELP!!?!
Question: Hello, I'm only 16 years old and am am active athlete. I've been a competitive swimmer since the age of 6. At age 12 my life took a turn for the best and was on top of the world being ranked 4th overall in the nation for my best event. On to thirteen and my career and success continued to grow. At that time being I weighed about 180 pounds, 6' lean muscle mass. Once hitting high school I changed eating habits and lost a total of 30 pounds thinking this would help and since most swimmers are lean fighting machines. I became a skinny mess and am fighting to gain my weight back. I am now currently at 164 pounds however my times aren't even close to when I was 13-14. I'm dealing with great amounts of fatigue and get tired easily. Practices are long and I lift on top of practice. I am now eating healthy and get at least 7 hours of sleep however my times still don't compare. My father and I are looking to testosterone to get my drive back and competitiveness. Please help me out!!
Answers: Hello, I'm only 16 years old and am am active athlete. I've been a competitive swimmer since the age of 6. At age 12 my life took a turn for the best and was on top of the world being ranked 4th overall in the nation for my best event. On to thirteen and my career and success continued to grow. At that time being I weighed about 180 pounds, 6' lean muscle mass. Once hitting high school I changed eating habits and lost a total of 30 pounds thinking this would help and since most swimmers are lean fighting machines. I became a skinny mess and am fighting to gain my weight back. I am now currently at 164 pounds however my times aren't even close to when I was 13-14. I'm dealing with great amounts of fatigue and get tired easily. Practices are long and I lift on top of practice. I am now eating healthy and get at least 7 hours of sleep however my times still don't compare. My father and I are looking to testosterone to get my drive back and competitiveness. Please help me out!!
First thing, if you have a training schedule for a typical nationally ranked swimmer, then 7 hours of sleep is no where near enough. You have to find ways to increase the amount of sleep your getting. Get to bed earlier or take a nap during the day.
Second. Are you eating enough? With a high workload you need to consume the calories to go with it. You should NOT be restricting calorie intake. If your eating habits are good, then make sure you eat enough of those good things.
Have you had your Testosterone level checked? Is it low? Remember, artifically increasing your Testosterone level could get you banned from competition.
Try to lift weights after adequate rest from your swimming workouts. Not only will it help combat fatigue, it should increase the effectiveness of both workouts.
Finally. How's your motivation? Are you truly pushing as hard as you can during training? If not, then may be a short break will help. You can use the time to recover and refocus. Remember, you need a goal. What ever it is, focus on it to increase your motivation.
Good Luck.