Comments From the Ring: SPECIAL REPORT: How Stress Affects Athletes

Monday, January 25, 2016

SPECIAL REPORT: How Stress Affects Athletes

SPECIAL EDITION

I had to issue a special report today.

I feel that I have to share something with you that is very important.
This is something that can relate to any athlete. It is about the stress of training.

When you are practising for a sport, and you are training daily, sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming. This is especially true if you are an amateur athlete getting ready for a major event,
For professionals, it is not so bad, since they are being paid for their sport, they have time to concentrate on said sport, and not so much on other things.

This is all very easy when you are a teenager, for example. You have fewer responsibilities.
However, as an adult, you have to consider work, domestic, and financial responsibilities on top of training for your sport.
This can all add up, and cause a great deal of anxiety for the athlete.
This is exactly what happened to me on Sunday.

I don't remember much except for storming out and thinking about a line from the film "Fight Club". Do you remember when Narrator said, "Fuck you, fuck Marla, fuck Fight Club"?
That is exactly how I felt after training on Sunday, "Fuck you, fuck the Brampton Cup and Fuck boxing".
Although, I am not sure if I really said that. I was definitely thinking it.

It was all because both Coach Will and trainer Jackie were pushing me 'way too hard.
I was already stressed from work. Sunday is a very compressed day for me. I go to the gym right after work, then go home and get maybe four hours sleep, and then right back to work again. A big reason why I hate training on Sundays. I only do it when I have a bout coming up.
After the Brampton Cup, I will have about three weeks when I won't have to train so hard, and then I will have to start preparing for the Silver Gloves.

Some people don't understand what athletes have to go through, and why winning is so important, and also why losing is so devastating.

Especially in a sport like boxing, which in itself is very complicated, and has a very strict training model.
One of many reasons why I get so upset when people who know nothing about being an athlete make stupid dumb-ass comments about how easy they think it is.

Ultimately, I work very hard, and I train six days a week.
On Sunday, I was at the gym from 10:30 until almost 2:00. If you calculate that, it is three and a half hours.
In addition, I had a chest congestion, and was having problems breathing, which certainly didn't help. Of course, I won't tell the coaches when I am sick. I am not going to let being sick get in the way of my training.
When I ask for a couple of rounds rest, it is not that I am being lazy. It is because I really need it.
I understand why coaches and trainers need to push athletes, but there has to be a line somewhere.
On Sunday, we all found the line, and it was not good for anyone.

Would it not be a good thing if we each had an alert system to let others know our mood?
A light bar with each colour representing a particular mood?

That is a good idea, actually.
I could market these. A person could wear this on their belt, for example, and as someone is pissing you off, just keep changing the colour so the person knows when to shut the fuck up.

These are not yet reality, but this blog is. Therefore, for those who have to deal with me on a daily basis, will now be able to see my stress level (mood) right here.
On the left of this entry, I introduce to you the Stress Level Alert System.

With this, anyone can quickly see where I am on the stress scale, which will be updated daily, or more often if needed.

The scale works like this:

GREEN ALERT Calm.

BLUE ALERT Getting 'testy', approach with caution.

YELLOW ALERT Tired of your shit.

ORANGE ALERT Stopped giving a fuck.

RED ALERT DANGER! MAY EXPLODE WITHOUT NOTICE!

I very strongly suggest you to check this regularly. It could save your life.

Today's weigh-in: