Doing a lot of sports, but I don’t feel very fit/endurance is trash?

[roland7777]

I am a 15 y/o female, 55 kg 160 cm (122 lbs 5’3), in high school and I do a lot of sports. However, during practice, I don’t feel quite as fit/conditioned as I think I should be. I don’t feel my endurance and stamina ramping up from the activity, and I’m wondering if this may be due to fatigue/overtraining, or simply because I’m not putting in enough effort into the workouts. I’ve done sports for quite a long time, though I’m not incredibly good at any one sport.

These are my workouts since school started around 3 weeks ago:

- Rugby (no contact yet, easing in), 1 hr 45 min, 4 times a week

- Basketball, 1 hr 30 min, 1-2 times a week

- Boxing, 1 hr, 1-2 times a week

- PE class (just in case), 1 hr, 2-3 times a week

Though I have been doing sports for quite a long time, I’ve never done this much volume, nor tried to balance 3 sports at once. I think I should feel fitter than I do, but maybe I’m just impatient?

Sorry if my post is weird, it’s my first one.

TL;DR I am doing a lot of sports, but my stamina is still low and I’m not sure why.

 

[jermyn]

@roland7777 There is a saying: "Fatigue mask fitness". It's probably part of the case here. Since you are doing so much, you are probably always at least somewhat fatigued. So you won't perform as well as you could if you were getting more rest.

 

[neroway]

@jermyn This is also the concept behind "peaking" for competition which is what periodization is based on

 

[oliver19]

@jermyn Yep. At age 12-16ish I was doing way too much at around 10-16hrs/wk of training and it left me constantly fatigued and frequently injured.

It was a lot, but the training time alone wasn't necessarily the issue. The issue is that I was doing a bunch of different activities, but training for each as though it was my only activity.

As each sport I was doing had a different competition schedule and season and each coach I had was trying to optimise my training for just their sport, my periodization was totally wack. For example, I'd be doing super specific race prep work and tapering for a rowing meet, but I'd be more tired than I should be because I'd also be in the build phase for cross country at the same time because the next big meet was a few months away, or I'd go into a weekday cross country race exhausted after spending >12hrs racing in a sailing regatta over the weekend.

If I had a better understanding of training principles I would've probably done a little less and been a lot more careful to coordinate my training for each discipline, but I knew little to nothing at the time so I just followed the training prescribed to the group, leaving me frequently overtrained (because most of the others doing each sport were only doing that 1 sport or maybe 2 total, where I was always training for 3-4 simultaneously to some degree). It sounds like OP could be in a similar situation.

 

[fearful]

@roland7777 Depending on how that is all spread out you’re likely not resting enough. I would encourage you to take at least one full rest day a week where walking is the highest activity level. I would also encourage you to take a look at your diet. Are you eating enough? Rugby is a sport where being big is typically better but those others would encourage you to be slim. With all that activity you’re going to need a ton of carbs.

It’s also a lot of cardio. If you’re not getting any strength training in I would recommend trying to incorporate that into your training, but don’t add it in just take some time during one of those activities to work on strength.

 

[pazzz]

@fearful As a rugby player, i'll second the carbs. I tried keto for two weeks, got nice and slim and my mental acuity was awesome but I would gas the fuck out 10 minutes into practice.

I would also recommend you make sure to get decent sleep. Not sleeping enough makes a big difference.

Lastly, if you're going to do full contact rugby I suggest you do some strength training to make sure you're solid enough for the hits. Good strong ligaments are the best way to prevent injuries.

Best of luck @taylorgodiva28-Page103 !

 

[maves]

@roland7777 Rest. You don’t have enough recovery so you’re always performing sub optimally

 

[sophia89]

@roland7777 Sleep 8 hours, eat a LOT of healthy food with good amounts of protien.

The fitness and endurance adaptations you are looking for are made with food while you sleep. Working out just makes you tired.

Not to mention, your body is still maturing, so I'm sure that some of your calorie intake is already going to growing up- meaning you may want even more food.

 

[baboo]

@sophia89 This was it for me. When I was in high school, I was doing 12+ hours of cardio a week and was having the same problem as OP. I was also sleeping 3 hours a night and eating like shit.

I saw massive improvements in my results when I went to college and started getting 8 hours a night and eating better.

 

[waqar]

@sophia89 Teenagers might need more sleep than that because they are still growing.

 

[difidon]

@sophia89 I was also going to say you probably need to eat more

 

[christian6000]

@sophia89 Specifically more carbs, ideally from whole food sources like grains, legumes, fruit, etc.

But you're also young and active so if you want to get some extra in from junk food, please do!

 

[steveh]

@sophia89 She's 15 and doing a tonne of sport, probably should aim for more like 9hours.

 

[viewerindepth]

@roland7777 How much sleep are you getting? Teenagers usually need more than the standard 8 hours, and you will need even more on top of that looking at your workout schedule.

When was the last time you had a rest week?

 

[merebear]

@roland7777 Make sure you are eating nutritious foods with plenty of protein, sleeping well, and take rest days every 3 or 4 days. Your body rebuilds itself when you sleep and rest.

Another thing to consider; too much activity too quickly without adequate rest is a perfect recipe for injuries.

If you are already doing all of the above and still struggling, I would consider seeing your primary care physician to rule out anemia.

 

[faithisking]

@merebear Smart answer. Doc can also rule out other hormonal/endocrine things like a Thyroid issue.

 

[mama93]

@roland7777 Yes you are impatient and you are also not measuring anything - If you want to see improvement do something you can actually see it on like a timed run once a week to see progress.

Even if you were progressing you there is no way for you to tell rn.

 

[o_mlly]

@roland7777 I would also get checked out by your doctor and get some basic blood work to make sure you're not anemic in addition to taking rest days as others have mentioned here.

 

[dawn16]

@roland7777 I learned long ago that you have to find a balance between working out, eating well and resting well. When I used to lift for PRs I could go for a while pushing forward but eventually things would stall. I'd take a week off. Drop the weight a bit and ease back and I'd usually be back to breaking my records in a couple of weeks.

Pushing hard will work for a bit but eventually it will wear you down. Not saying that is the cause. It could be also that you're expecting too much too soon. Or that endurance isn't a strong category for you. But if the endurance has tanked since the volume has increased then you may be over training.

 

[jerseygirl1]

@roland7777 Rugby with no contact is soccer practice. Aka HELLA running. Basketball is Hella jogging. And boxing is taxing on the cardio. You may just be wearing yourself out without actually building anything up. You'll get more out of focusing on less. Boxing is a hell of a workout on its own and will boost your conditioning better than most sports. Especially if you're actually doing road work, hitting bags, hitting mitts and sparring occasionally. And no judgment but IMHO Rugby without contact is actually pointless af.