FITNESS Plan recovery time into training

RELAX Taking time out to recover from exercise is an important part of training.

Plan to recover


Personal Trainer
Paul O'Brien

Exercise is a stressor. This means that the very act of taking physical exercise places stress (or overload) on your body. Your first thought may be that this is not exactly a good thing.
In fact, the stress placed upon your body is a key ingredient in your becoming fitter. After exercise (the stressor), comes what is known as the adaptation phase. The overload you have placed on your body causes your systems (cardiovascular, neuromuscular, skeletal and so on) to adapt to the stress of training. It is during this phase that your body rebuilds itself, making you fitter, faster and stronger.
In order to improve accelerate your fitness, you’ll also want to remain free of injury and burnout. Developing a strategy to do this must begin in the initial phases of your training, during early stress and adaptation phases. Injury and burnout occur when the stress placed upon your body is too great, or when stress is applied repetitively over too long a period without sufficient recovery. Recovery is the single most important component of your training plan. This is true not matter what sport you are involved in. It requires discipline, however, as recovery means cutting back on training volume (duration and/or intensity) at pre-determined times. This can be hard, as most people are loath to cut back when they feel their training is going well. The mentality seems to be to ‘push on while I can’. This is simply a recipe for injury and burnout. I have learnt this from past (and often painful) experience.
Planned recovery is the secret of all successful athletes. Learn to implement it into your training and enjoy steady progress with less of the pitfalls. Follow this three-point plan when factoring recovery into your training schedule:

1. Recovery during Sessions
If you notice a strain during a session, or simply feel fatigued and lacking energy for your training, err on the side of caution. Either slow down and treat the session as recovery or take a rest day and re-gather your energies for the next session. Don’t be a slave to your training plan!

2. Recovery between Sessions
Always allow at least one complete rest day in your training week. If you are new to or just returning to training, resting every other day for the first two weeks is a good idea. Furthermore, always follow a tough session (speed, hills or long endurance session) with an easy recovery day or rest day.

3. Recovery week
Plan to cut back your training volume by about 50 percent every three to four weeks. This will ensure that your body can fully recover and prevents the stress of continuous overload from causing injury and burnout.

Paul O’Brien is a personal trainer and life coach based in Westport.