How To Manage Overtraining

Imagine this… you're a consumer who is overtraining and dealing with some sort of nagging injury, you go seek a professional opinion to help resolve the issue, and the solution they pitch you is to trade the hour of training in the gym with an hour of physical therapy, they might even say that you can continue your same training program in the meantime… so instead of actually managing the issue, we’ve just added volume to it. This is the overtraining management model that is currently being implemented in clinics everywhere, and honestly, it’s outdated. 

Why don’t we manage overtraining by simply managing training. And why don’t we manage training by simply having a process that allows us to interact more frequently with clients, communicate asynchronously, and ultimately help them navigate their training week?? The answer is simple, the current payment model isn’t set up this way. Many clinicians already broke free from the constraints of the insurance model, so why now hamstring yourself with the fee-for-service delivery model? You’ve already begun your journey to think outside the box for how everyone was telling you to operate, this is just the next evolution. 

Here’s a framework for how I would script and manage a client working through overtraining issues:

You: “Hey John, given what we’ve found in our assessment today, I actually recommend we use a Prescriptive Exercise Program to help you manage this overtraining issue. What that will allow us to do is have multiple touch points throughout the week where I can collect data and start to interpret how variables of your training program are affecting your knee.”

John: “So I won’t need to come into the clinic for treatment?”

You: “Correct. Everything we would be doing here you’d do in your own facility. I’ve seen your squat technique and trust your movement elsewhere, so really, we will just be identifying irritating trends, making some training program adjustments, and then when appropriate, we will ramp your volume back up in a detailed systematic way that takes the guesswork out of it for you.”

John: “Sounds great, that will save me so much time as well! Sign me up”

Now this is obviously a sample, but it’s not far from how my exact presentation to clients went.

If you’re ready to expand how you operate and begin truly selling solutions over sessions, there’s no time like the present to begin!