"I have a theory that burnout is about resentment. And you beat it by knowing what it is you're giving up that makes you resentful."
- Marissa Mayer
All #athletes, young and old, experience some form of burnout throughout their career. Burnout is part of the #ebbandflow of sport.
Today’s tips on how to manage medium symptoms of burnout:
1. As a #youthsports or #highschoolsports athlete, change it up by participating in a different sport(s). It’s a great way to #renew motivation, to focus on different muscle groups and movement patterns, and it’s a way to avoid overuse injuries.
2. Athletes committed to specialization should consult with their coaches and trainers to create a #periodizedtraining plan that cycles through seasonal training programs that include the off-season, preseason, in-season, and post-season training regiments. Lastly, don’t forget the down-season. To take time off to #restandrecover by attending to your other passions, hobbies, or going on vacation. Professional athletes have a down-season built into their yearly schedule, so should you!
3. #seasonaltransitions are the times between seasons. Use them as an opportunity to appreciate your #successes from the past season and to #gearup for the next season by identify things that you are looking forward to.
4. Days off. Every sport, at all levels, have designated #daysoff during the week. Take advantage, even if it’s just one day, use it to recharge and do things like spend time with family and friends, do something fun, attend to your other to-do lists, or just veg and do nothing.
5. Mentor an athlete on your team, or help coach a lower level program, like a youth team. #mentoring or #coaching can remind you of why you #loveyoursport and how it’s bigger than just you.
6. Focus less on the #outcome and more on the #process. Instead of did I / we win the game today or did I dominate in practice? Ask yourself what went well today, and how did I / we improve?
We hope you enjoyed Part 3 of Understanding And Managing Burnout.