For many athletes the 2024 race season is quickly coming to a close. And when the last race comes & goes, the very next question is often “Now what?” My answer? Always, always, always take a planned workout break. A planned workout break…what the heck does that mean…exactly? Well, it means pretty much what it sounds like – a break from working out! 😉
Recovery as Training
As a coach, I feel like this extended recovery break is the most important, yet most misunderstood, cycle of training. Wait…so NOT training is actually training?? Yep, that’s exactly what I mean. When I introduce the concept of a Recovery Break to athletes, they always look at me like I’m crazy. They immediate ask how much swim, bike, run they’re allowed to do…and I say “None”. Wait…no swim, bike or run? Yep…but that doesn’t mean “do nothing.” Let’s take a closer look at what a great Recovery Break looks like.
Why Take a Recovery Break?
In order for folks to get on board with this concept, it’s important to understand the purpose of a Recovery Break. Here are a few ways that downtime actually improves your overall fitness:
- Working out breaks your body down whereas resting helps it rebuild. This is a basic fact often overlooked or ignored by athletes. Remember that exercise creates trauma, stress & degradation (i.e., soreness & fatigue)…which is exactly why we do it! If we never create microtrauma in the body, then there’s no need to rebuild stronger, faster or leaner. But that’s the key – you have to give the body an opportunity to rebuild. And rebuilding happens ONLY when you rest.
Working Out = Breakdown
Resting = Rebuilding
- Fitness plateaus require change to push through. A training program, if designed well, will elicit lots of fitness gains. But those gains have a ceiling on them. In other words, in any given training season you’ll only get so much better. A plateau happens when you’ve reached your max fitness gains. Breaking out of a plateau can be done several different ways – change volume, change intensity, change routine, change exercise. If you notice that all of those include the word “change”. And perhaps the best (and safest) way to change ALL of those variables at once is to take time off!
- Motivation & desire to train are directly linked to physical improvement. As a coach I want my athletes 500% ready to train. And, if they’re not, there’s something wrong with the training program’s work-to-rest ratios. If you’ve been consistent & on top of your workouts for a whole season, I can bet that you are mentally tired…tired of being on a strict schedule…tired of saying no to things that don’t fit into your training schedule…just overall tired. The better we understand that mind & body are directly linked, the more we can see that a mentally tired athlete will get compromised physical results. All the more reason to help the mind rest & rejuvenate as well as the body.
“Training” During a Recovery Break
Now that we’ve established that a Recovery Break is a good idea, let’s look at how you can “train” in your Recovery Break. My definition of “training” is that you have a plan, a structure, an intention for your actions. So, let’s apply intention to a Recovery Break. Since we’re not on a structured swim/bike/run plan, what can we apply structure & intention to instead? Here’s a list just to get you thinking:
Recovery
- Develop a pre-sleep routine
- Set a bedtime alarm
- Stay in bed at least 8-10 hrs
Prehab/Rehab
- Schedule regular massages
- Use percussion guns, foam rollers, compression boots
- Have any ache/pain treated by a physical therapist
- Develop a mobility routine (Coach AK Whittaker does an awesome 1hr mobility Zoom on Sun’s at 5:00PM! Message her for the link.)
- Take a yoga class
Nutrition
- Calculate your daily protein intake…and increase it, if necessary
- Work with a registered dietician to improve your overall eating habits
- Use one new vegetable each week
- Drink more water
- Cook at home a bit more
- Develop a list of quick, healthful meals that you can use when your exercise hours are higher
Mental
- Practice mindfulness
- Do a meditation program like Headspace or Calm
- Start a journal
- Read books (For book ideas, see my Spring & Fall Reading List blog posts.)
- Do daily Gratitudes
Fitness
- Plan your next race season
- Write down your fitness goals for next season (Hint: Make them small & measurable.)
- Identify ways to address your weaknesses
- Start a strength training routine
- Work on technique/skill…especially in your weakest sport
- Identify what worked & what didn’t work in your last training season
OK, folks. I hope you get my point. There are SO many things you can do during a Recovery Break to “train” yourself for better results. As you may have noticed, these things often get dropped when we’re busy training. And yet, so many of these are critically important to our improvement.
If you want your next season to be the best yet, I highly encourage you to take a Recovery Break & put some time & energy into a few of these ideas! Put it this way…what have you got to lose?!
Happy Training,
Coach Michelle