Here I will explain how I feel that my lower body is coming to the back end of its peak performance where as I feel my upper body and core areas are just hitting hitting their peak.
Lower half of my body (legs, ankles, feet)...
With the exception of two years (ages 18 and 19) I have been playing competitive football for almost 22 years. Since my first official competitive football in 1993, which was a summer fair at my primary school, I have always played regular competitive football right until now, at the age of 30 (although I have been injured for the past few months).
In my school days, I played football every single day, even in the rain, in the summer me and my mates would be playing football on the local Queenswood field, Beckett Park, in the street or on the Bowling Green until it got dark, I just couldn't get enough of playing football.
In my early adult years, when I had just turned 20, after two years of studying and partying, where I had lost interest in participating in sport, I played in a charity five a side football match and rediscovered my love for playing competitive football. I decided to get myself fit again and join a five a side team, which I did, I then joined a few 11 a side teams and the rest is history.
Although I am going round the houses getting to my point, I am getting closer to it. I feel that, over this past year, I have started to develop more niggles and wear and tear injuries to my legs, something I very rarely suffered from in my early to mid to late 20's, I almost felt I was invincible, I never ever got any muscle or tendon injuries, the only injuries I would ever get was impact injuries such as bruising of bones or bone sprains, but I was always lucky with injuries and if I did have any niggles I could easily play through the pain pretty easy.
I have realised that I didn't start getting muscle or tendon related injuries until I started running marathons. I have come to realise that long distance running and football don't really mix. Both sports together dramatically increase your cardiovascular fitness and your speed and explosiveness but I have come to learn that competing regularly in both sports side by side without much rest takes its toll on your legs.
I feel I hit my physical peak around 27, everything seemed to come together, my speed increased, endurance, explosiveness, power, athleticism, quick feet, coordination and bit by bit, as I started developing other parts of my body as I joined the gym, I started noticing my upper body and core strength and conditioning improving. I feel as a whole, my body and performance was it's most complete and at 29, with a case to claim when I was 29, in the build up to the London Marathon 2014.
But since London Marathon 2014, I have noticed a difference in my bottom half of my body. I am regularly getting little strange niggling injuries which I feel is down to just general wear and tear from playing so much intense football over the years. The 14 half marathons I have run and in-particular I feel the five marathon's I have run in the last three years, with all the mileage in training and running races and playing football injured has also sped up the negative effects on my tendons and muscles. After tearing both of my calf muscles in the last three years, I must admit that when using my explosive ability what I've always used to excel in sports, both legs are beginning to feel fragile.
Due to these factors, I feel that my lower body is coming to the end of its peak. I don't feel I have lost any speed or endurance just yet, but due to the fact my calves are not 100%, I have lost a bit of that extreme explosiveness which I have always replied on. I haven't yet felt my speed declining yet, so I still feel at my peak, it's just the fact that little niggles and injuries are stopping me from performing to my top ability, I don't think I have peaked yet, as I am still as quick as I was two years ago (or atleast I feel it), it's just that maybe due to wear and tear, my legs are now starting to feel the effects, they maybe aren't as fresh as they were when I was 24, 25 and going into my peak years. It's disappointing but after the way I've pushed legs over the last few years, I guess it was going to start effecting them eventually.
As I have been suffering from a tear in my right calf muscle, from October this year, I've barely been able to use my legs in my cardiovascular fitness which has been frustrating. I've made one or two comebacks, both running and competitive football and have re-torn my calf again and had to sit on the sidelines. It has been annoying because I want to be nearly race fit ready for my marathon training after the New Year but the calf is holding me back.
My cousin Matty (who plays for my 5 a side team Olympique) did some research and bought me some muscle compression technology socks for my calf muscles. I have been using them in the gym when trying to strengthen and stretch my calf and I must admit I have noticed a huge positive difference. They kind of seem to keep your muscle together, it feels odd at first but once I got used to wearing them they now feel great. I have run on the treadmill in the gym using them over the last two weeks and my calf has help up so far. I played in an indoor football training match last night wearing them and again, my calf help up, although has ached a bit today. It looks as though these could be my answer to my calf recovery and I am now feeling more confident going into the New Year that I will be able to train to a high standard.
As I feel my lower half of my body are just beginning to reach the back end of its peak, I feel my upper body is the complete opposite. It's clear to see that my lower body are now developing wear and tear injuries, where as my upper body and core are as fresh as a daisy and I feel I am just hitting my peak in the upper half of my body.
I think a big factor in this is that my upper body is relatively fresh. Until about aged 27 and a half I had only weight trained and worked my upper body intensely in stages and phases, I was never committed 100% to this type of training and competition using my upper body so it has always been pretty fresh.
I first began weight training when my Grandad John (who was a keen weight trainer and a brick layer) gave me his old Weider weight lifting bench and weight lifting belt, but I never really kept it up, just something I did now and again. I weight trained with resistance weights quite religiously when I was 21 to 22 for a good year and dabbled in a bit of body-building here and there when I was 23, then regularly weight trained when I was 25 for periods, but until the last three years I have not worked my upper body enough to cause any type of wear and tear.
The last three years I have done all sorts of different types of upper body training from lifting free weights, bench pressing, using my own body weight, resistance exercises and boxing and I feel like each year, when I mix up the training I just feel like I am getting stronger and fitter, which is definitely benefiting my all round fitness for running and other sports.
As my football achievements have all been ticked off and I am content with most of my running and athletics PB's (personal best times), I feel that I am looking for some new challenges as an athlete while I am still in my physical peak years. I am looking at entering another Tough Mudder next year, I also really want to compete in the Men's Health Survival Of The Fittest at some point and I would like to try out some new sporting challenges that will test my fitness and endurance.
I may even consider entering the Yorkshire Three Peaks Race at some point, as I have qualified for the official race by running a marathon under 3 hours. I walked the Yorkshire Three Peaks a week after the London Marathon this year, but I began having problems with my I.T. band and the last 8 or 9 miles I was in a lot of pain, so if I was to run it, I would need to know my legs have it in them, I don't doubt that actually, but when I run it, if I ever do, I want to get a really good time, so I'd have to be 100% fit and confident.
Another thing that I have heard about, but not really pushed myself into trying out yet is Cross Fit, it's supposed to be one of the best ways of maximising your core fitness and upper body strength combining cardiovascular training, I may give it a go soon, maybe instead of the gym? Who knows?
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Richard Kennedy-Joyce (joycinho)
Richard Joyce (rjsports)