They say that the definition of madness is to do the same thing over again and expect different results.
For many endurance athletes this form of madness is often displayed in the early part of the training season as they start to build volume and intensity. Full time athletes have more scope to do this because it’s their job and training is their priority. For the rest of us, and I’d suggest the majority of readers of this blog, there are other commitments in the week besides training. These might include – work, family, friends, social etc. and each of these adds to the stress that the individual has to cope with.
If you keep adding to this stress by increasing training load then this can and often does lead to either injury or illness or if you are particularly unlucky both at the same time.
Some athletes I know experience this same pattern every year!
Same approach = same result = Madness
So, I’m advocating a different approach to your training in 2012.
I’d be willing to bet that among those of your reading there won’t be many who went through 2011 without missing a few days through injury and some more with a cold or other illness. Not only is it extremely frustrating to have your progress halted just as you feel you are getting some where but, if you have too long off then your fitness backslides (which is why many athletes try to keep training through illness/injury which in some cases just prolongs or even worsens the problem). It just takes longer to get to where you want to be.
Instead of thinking about how you can add volume or intensity to your training look at how you can make your training more consistent. Here are some ideas to help you
- Stay healthy – sounds obvious but the easiest way to keep training is to be healthy. To do this you need to conscious about what’s happening. Many athletes start to feel invincible the further they get from their last block of missed training and then they take their eye off the ball. And then… Below are some more specific ways to stay in the moment
- Review your training diaries from previous years – You do keep a diary? If you don’t then this will be a problem unless you have a very good memory. There are many good reasons to keep a training diary. In this case if you take a look at previous injuries or illnesses there will be some clues. For example you may have ignored warning signs – sore throats, runny nose, increased stress at work as a sign of an impending cold, tight or aching muscles or little niggles for impending injuries
- Regular massage – even visiting the masseur once per fortnight can ease out the tight spots. Good masseur can often feel muscle tightness developing and do something before it becomes a problem
- Listen to your body- If you listened to your body every time you felt a little tired or off colour then you never get much training done. Experience has shown me that many athletes have an instinctive feeling when they shouldn’t be training. Learn to pick up on the signals
- Eat better – Just because you do lots of training doesn’t mean you can eat what you like. Start with nutritionally dense foods which help to refuel the body, repair damaged muscles and bolster the immune system.
- See your Physio pro actively – most people see the Physio when they are injured (reactively) Perhaps if you saw the Physio once per month when you were healthy you wouldn’t get injured ( this ignores impact injuries of course like falling off your bike). It might actually save you money as well!
- Stretch more – better range of movement makes for more efficient athletes. Tight muscles can create altered movement patterns which could lead to injury
- Increase your sleep – If there is one thing you can do to boost your recovery it’s increasing your quantity of sleep. Most humans don’t sleep enough. If you do increase your training volume you need to increase recovery as well. If you lift training and sleep then you have to reduce something else
- Switch off – if you can’t get more sleep then at the very least learn to switch off. After a training session has finished it’s done. If you had a bad one don’t dwell on it; just do all you can to make the next one better. The same is true of work. Find a way of making sure that work issues stay at work. Many of the athletes I know have poor sleep patterns which are work induced
If you can introduce a few of the suggestions above then you’ll be “smart” about your training.
I get many requests each week from athletes who want to up their training load but very few (in 15 years) asking how they can be smarter.
If you really want to break away from the peloton in 2012 be smart not mad.
Stay healthy & Have fun
PS If you are racing long (140.6 or 70.3) in 2012 DID YOU KNOW that we now have a “done for you” programme for every single race in the world. Just click here to view them all
If you dont see it on the list then just ask.
