From the mailbag:
Question: I hope you can help me out here.
The term my son uses is adrenaline “rushes”, that he has related to racing. Over the last two years his “rushes” are becoming more and more frequent, (10 to 20 a day). They originally started prior to a race and are now happening days before. In fact I think he has become more worried about having a “rush” then worrying about an upcoming race.
We’ve gone to a Medical doctor, Sports psychologist, Sports Hypnotist, and Holistic doctor, (there having been some short term successes with each but the condition is still there). He loves to run, and has had some great prior successes, but these “rushes” are wearing on him and of course he feels worn out prior to a race.
Also, we live in the southwestern USA, and he trains in hotter weather, that I feel may have depleted him of essential nutrients.
Any recommendations would be very much appreciated.
<name and city withheld>
SpeedEndurance.com:
Answer: Thank you for your email. I must admit, this is a first of a kind problem, but not unique, as I had someone with a similar problem before.
First of all, how old is your son? High school? College?
Second, the biggest short term danger would be his blood pressure. Has he checked it out? Do you or his mother have a history of high blood pressure?
Third, how has this condition affected his sleeping? I know he’s worn at the end of the day, but can he sleep a normal 6 or 7.5 hours a night? Do these “rushes” happen during his sleep?
In my case with my athlete, we resolved it by "belly breathing". When the attacks happen, we simply meditate and breath though our belly which helps lower the heart rate. It worked for me on race day when I would "think" about the race and get a mild "panic attack". Now I’m not saying your son has panic attacks… just looking for solutions to get his Heart Rate down to calm him.
Here is a good read, which is a spin-off from my belly breathing:
Deep Breathing Exercises to Relax or Calm Pre-Race Jitters
And finally, if you are worried about the depletion of essential nutrients, I would get a blood analysis to make sure all the key bio-markers are optimal, such as Potassium, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc, B12 and Chromium. I started using InsideTracker, and I was surprised how dangerously low my Vitamin D levels were. You can read about my findings here:
InsideTracker: How to Track and Improve your Testosterone & Zinc levels, Naturally
Jimson Lee
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