rest break on the track

Let’s talk about recovery! Now, I know that this can be a touchy subject for some. I mean, why would anyone want to take time off or ease off of their training when it’s going so well?! What’s the point of recovery? What if I lose fitness because I recover too much?

First off, it’s ok to take some time to slow things down and let your body recover. Especially if you train 5-7 days a week for months on end. You have to remember that recovery IS part of training. It should be planned and scheduled just like any workout you do during your training. Whether it’s taking planned recovery days between hard training sessions, or taking time off completely once you’ve completed your goal race or your “season” is over.

Hopefully todays post gives you some peace of mind and promotes a healthier outlook on recovery.

Now, let’s dive in!

What is recovery?

Recovery is anytime you decrease your training load and/or intensity to promote muscle and other soft tissue recovery. When you train, you stress the muscles, joints and tendons in your body. After an intense workout your body is quite a bit broken down, so it needs a couple days to rebuild. During this time your muscles compensate by becoming stronger so the next time that workout is attempted it can handle it a bit better. Recovery doesn’t necessarily mean you need to stop training all together; just take it easy to let your body catch up.

What are the benefits to recovery?

Number one, you allow your body to rebuild. When you do hard training session your muscles get pretty beat up. Some easy training sessions for the next 2 – 3 days after allows your muscles to heal and get stronger.

Secondly, It’s to help prevent mental fatigue aka Burning out. When all you do is train train train, and never take time to slow things down, you become burnt out. You start to lose motivation because your body is always tired, muscles are always aching, your paces are slowing down and you are just no longer enjoying yourself.

Lastly, recovery helps reduce the likelihood of getting injured. Sometimes when you push too hard and don’t take the necessary steps to recover, you leave yourself susceptible to injuries.

What are the consequences of skimping on recovery?

Not scheduling recovery days between hard efforts or training hard 365 days a year can cause your performance to suffer. You may get injured, become burnt out and never reach your potential. When you train too hard too often you weaken your immune system as well, meaning you get sick more often, thus loose out on training.

How to recover.

This part might be easier said than done for some. But the reality is, you need recovery.

Here are a couple ways to include recovery into your training;

  1. Plan recovery days after a hard workout or race. The 2-3 days after a race or workout lower the intensity and/or volume of your training.
  2. If you spent 4-5 months training for a goal race, once you have completed that race, take 1-2 weeks off of no training. This is great for a mental reset so that you come back into training with a hunger to get back into it, and it allows your body to heal all the aches and pains that you training through.
  3. If you are having trouble planning recovery days and need more help, get in touch with a coach that can help guide you. I have Coached Cross Country and Track and Field at the High School and Collegiate level, and one thing I know for sure is that many athletes take recovery for granted and tend to over do thing.

Summary

Take some time to slow thing down and relax. If you plan accordingly, your body will recover better, you will get stronger and faster, and you will enjoy training.

If you have any questions about Recovery or want to know more about having a Personal Running Coach, message me or leave me comment below. Enjoy your training, and don’t forget to recover after!