RECOVERY IS TRAINING

A FEW KEY WORDS ON RECOVERY TO ASSIST YOU IN MAXIMIZING YOUR TRAINING AND ACHIEVING YOUR POTENTIAL AS AN ATHLETE.

You can push your body all that you want but training only breaks it down. In order to rebuild to new levels your body needs recovery. It is during recovery that the body rebuilds stronger. While you sleep, between breakthrough efforts, in the valleys between the peaks and pretty much anytime other than when you are actually training.

Yet, most athletes consistently undervalue the power of recovery. They tend to focus on the pain rather than the gain. The secret to progression, personal bests and PR's however, is finding the balance between training and recovery. The faster you recover, the sooner you can overload the system through training again. So how much recovery do we need? What is the magic formula?  That depends.

Too little recovery and the body will not have time to fully adapt to the training stimulus. Plateaus in performance, fatigue, soreness, injuries and systemic over-training symptoms will soon follow.

Too much recovery, on the other hand will result in a reversal of the training effect, de-conditioning, stagnation and decreases in performance.

There are many variables that effect how much recovery an individual needs at any given time. It is not just the length and intensity of the training session that determine how much time we need to rebuild, regenerate and adapt. Genetics, age, emotional well-being, nutrition, sleep quality, illness, injury and all forms of stress (positive and negative) all effect our body's ability to adapt. The higher the level of total stress, the more time the body will need to adapt and realize a training effect. Quantifying the accumulative stresses that we place on the body (emotional, physical, mental etc) is critical for creating a personalized and effective recovery program.

There are a few principles and guidelines you can use to get started on creating your own training and recovery program. Start with these safe 'rules' and then begin watching, listening and tracking how your body responds. You will find out how much recovery your body needs in response to different types, volumes and intensities of stress through trial, error and observation. You are an experiment of one. Be wise and be patient. Here are some guidelines to get you started:

• Less is more. It is always better to be conservative with your training load than to push too much too soon and suffer the negative effects. Patience is required and slowing down will likely result in reaching your goals sooner in the end.

• 10% 'rule'. This is a very conservative approach to building your training program by adding no more than 10%(ish) each week. Consider the volume (time or mileage per session/week), intensity (speed, incline, resistance, heart rate, power) and type (changing surfaces, shoes, sports, techniques) when adding to your training program each week.

• Annual Recovery. Taking time throughout the year, after peaks in your training, is important to allow the body to catch up from the load and do the things it needs to do to adapt. Known as the 'Transition Period' in periodized training plans, this time should be focused on restoration and recovery, rather than reaching for new heights. Avoid the temptation of an extended 'off-season', however, as long periods of inactivity will result in de-conditioning and actually increasing stress on the body during a return to training. Work with a coach to learn more about creating an optimal transition phase into your plan.

• Monthly Recovery. All athletes incorporate recovery into their mesocycles and so should you. It doesn't matter if you are training for the Olympics or to run your first 5k, the body will benefit from regular decreases in training load. Decreasing the total load of training by 25-50% every fourth week is a safe place to start. You may need more or less than this, however.

• Weekly Recovery. Look at your week and ensure there are peaks and valleys in your training. A safe guideline is to alternate hard:easy days into your week. Take your life into consideration when labeling days as 'hard or easy'. Remember to quantify all of the stresses in your life including work and life stress. Give your body 48 hours between the most intensive training sessions in your week. Not only will your body adapt more fully, but you will be able to work harder at the next session, thereby increasing the training effect that much more. If you are too fatigued from your last workout to reach your training intensity targets, it really defeats the purpose. Recover fully so that you can train hard!

• Daily Recovery. Most professional athletes put their feet up for the other 16-20 hours a day that they aren't training. They get frequent passive therapies such as massage, they take naps and lay around as much as the can. You are not a professional athlete and I am guessing you can't lay around all day. But you can plan in little pockets of recovery to help your body adapt. Make a list of all of the things that replenish and re-balance your body. Try to do more of those on a daily or weekly basis. Every minute will add up.

Modalities to encourage recovery:

• Sleep. The more the better. Get whatever you can. And then try and get some more.

• Active recovery. Gentle, low intensity movement to increase circulation. Walks, light spins, yoga.

• Passive therapy. Manual therapy including massage and self massage, acupuncture, chiropractic etc all help the body restore itself.

• Contrasting hot/cold – 5 mins alternating between each and help through increasing circulation without adding mechanical stress. Use hot/cold packs to encourage circulation in specific areas. I love my wood sauna for recovery days. Oh ya.

• Feel good things. What makes you happy? What decreases your stress? What feels therapeutic to you? Do more of those things every day and every week. A sense of well-being can only help to decrease your stress and improve your recovery/adaptation.

The magic formula for finding the perfect training-stress combination is an elusive, dynamic, ever changing balance that varies from person to person, year to year, month to month, week to week and even day to day. It is a delicate cocktail, a fine line and a lifelong study requiring patience, persistence and curiosity. Ultimately it means listening to your body, respecting it's wishes and responding to it's needs, regardless of what your training schedule says or what YOU want to do.  Recovery IS training. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that;)

Signs that you need more recovery:

• Feeling exhausted or overwhelmed

• Muscle soreness for more than 48 hours

• ‘Pain’ - small aches or niggles that last more than a few days

• Difficulty sleeping or sleeping for much more than normal but never feeling rested

• Irritability

• Lethargy / Loss of motivation / Loss of JOY.

• Can’t maintain target pace for intensity sessions. Once you drop 10% below the target pace- the intervals are over for the day. Finish with Z1 and save it for next time.

• Can’t maintain target intensity for training sessions.  Easy workouts still feel ‘too hard’ when you lower intensity.

Amazing Energy Systems!

Part 1:2

Next up in this series : Zone Intensity Training & How You Can Create Your Own Training Zones!!

The human body is an amazing machine! We have multiple energy systems within our bodies that provide fuel for our activities so that we can run, spin, jump and play at a range of speeds and durations. Although we are always using a combination of energy systems to move our bodies, there are two main methods that your body uses to produce ATP (energy currency of the body!) Aerobic and Anaerobic. The actual processes involved to create energy so that we can move our bodies, are highly complex, but this overview will give you an idea of what your body is up to on those runs and rides;)

Aerobic: means “with oxygen”. This energy system fuels your lower intensity, long duration, endurance workouts. The lower the intensity and the longer duration, the more it becomes fueled by the aerobic energy system. While you are sitting there reading this you are primarily using your aerobic system. The aerobic system is efficient and at low intensities you can go on and on and on without running out of steam (in theory). The aerobic system is fueled primarily by fat and research tells us that, in theory, we have enough stored energy in the form of fat to run, on average, 26 consecutive marathons!

Anaerobic: without oxygen. This is your higher intensity, short duration, energy system and it is made up of two systems: Lactic and Alactic. Too fast and too intense for the aerobic system to keep up with your energy requirements, these system use glycogen (carbohydrates stored in muscle) and other substrates as their fuel source. These fuels are finite and produce by-products that will build up and leave you feeling fatigued with increased effort so that you can only maintain high intensities for a limited period of time. Activities lasting less than 10 seconds are fueled predominantly by the Anaerobic Alactic system, where those lasting 10-60seconds are Lactic system driven. Beyond this the percentage begins to shift to greater and greater support from the Aerobic system. With an effective training program, the body actually learns to process and use these bi-products to produce additional ATP (energy) so that you can tolerate higher intensities and longer durations of high intensity work.

More Terms:

Aerobic Threshold. AKA Top of Zone 1 in a 5 zone training intensity system. The point/pace at which the body shifts from near pure reliance on the Aerobic energy system as it requires additional support from the Anaerobic system. You get what you train, and when you spend significant time training below your aerobic threshold (Zone 1 upper limit), some amazing adaptations occur in your body! Consistent Zone 1 training results in: increasing capillary networks, improving the bloods oxygen carrying capacity, increasing mitochondrial activity (energy producing factories in our cells), improving fat utilization and much more. The more effectively you train your aerobic system (below Z1 intensity), the better your body will become at using fat as a fuel source, allowing your muscles to spare precious, limited glycogen for your endurance events. WOW!

If you are training for an endurance event lasting more than 2.5 hours, training your aerobic system correctly is critical for your performance. In fact, 80-90% of your weekly training time should be spent in this Zone, below your Aerobic Threshold (yes, you read that right, total up your minutes and avoid wasted training time above Z1 in the 'grey zone'). Unfortunately, many athletes train too fast and end up training at too hard of an intensity during their Z1 workouts and therefor they will never reap the powerful, transformative benefits of true aerobic training. It can be hard to relate running and riding slower with getting faster, I get it. But man oh man, when you feel how transformative aerobic training is for both your endurance AND endurance pace, you will be a convert. Note: BE CONSERVATIVE during Z1 training so that you don’t mistakenly run above your aerobic threshold. No heavy breathing, no burning legs, should feel ‘easy’. Run slower if you are unsure and train on your own to avoid pushing too hard. 2-4/10 for intensity on the Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale.

Lactic Threshold aka Anaerobic Threshold. AKA Top of Zone 3 in a 5 zone training intensity system. A heads up that lactic acid has a bad wrap. Despite the rumours, it is not, in fact, lactic acid that creates fatigue in our muscles with sustained high intensity efforts. It is actually, hydrogen ions that create an acidic environment resulting in muscle fatigue. Lactate (it is not an acid) actually comes to the rescue and acts as a buffering agent to decrease this acidosis. As the effort increases, lactate floods the bloodstream to buffer the acidosis. Eventually, the production of hydrogen becomes greater than the bodies ability to process it and acidosis sets in. This is known as Lactate Threshold or Anaerobic Threshold, which correlates with an increased breathing rate, heart rate and burning sensation in the muscles. If this threshold level is exceeded, you will only be able to sustain the pace for a few minutes. Lactate Threshold usually correlates with the pace and average heart rate that you can sustain at hard effort for approximately one hour. 7-8+/10 on the RPE Scale.

VO2 MAX. This is the maximum amount, or volume, of oxygen that you can use at one time. We all have genetic potential/limitations but VO2max can be improved through training. Amazing adaptations occur in the cardiovascular system as the result of VO2max training, which contribute to a higher VO2max, speed at VO2max, improved endurance and the potential for a higher lactate threshold. WOW! 8-10/10.

Next up, let's chat about how to create and use Heart Rate, Pace and Power Training Zones!

Need a training plan to go along with all that new exercise physiology knowledge? I'm here for ya!  Check out my Self Directed Training Plans on the Training Peaks Store!

Train smart and have fun!

Cheers,

Sarah Seads