Training is really about recovery.Recovery is the holy grail of any kind of training because it truly is the limiting factor as to the gains you are going to make. That,of course and genetics. But that is another topic.
You can only make as much progress as you can handle loads in training.FOr instance, if you want to squat 500 pounds as a max you need to be able to train with 70-85% of that, or 350-425 lbs on a regular basis. We can argue as to how often and much much you should train with those loads but the key is being able to work with those weights. If you can do the workouts but they break you down so much you dont get stronger. you get weaker.so recovery is key and is truly the factor limiting how good you will get.
If you want to run a 4 min mile you better be able to do the 20 quarters in 63 seconds that the top milers can do with ease.Not only do those workouts but recover from them stronger than you were going in. Not an easy task and one that requires considerable sacrifice and dedication to accomplish.Building up to those required loads takes many many progressive workouts. And you have to recover from each one. the less the recovery the greater the chance of injury as well.
There are a multiple of facets to increasing recovery not the least of which is anabolics which work well( in the short run) and are easy. Hence their popularity. The least popular are the ones that require thought,work and discipline such as regular massage and body therapy, stretching, active recovery work,nutrition,visualization and not the least of which a very calm, balanced lifestyle and lots of rest as well as sleep.
Olympic and true professional athletes are very lazy when they are not training as they are very jealous of their recovery energy and know the more they waste with superfluous activities the slower their progress will be. It's all a choice of course. Stay out late, have some drinks and party a bit or watch a dvd, doing some mental preparation for the tomorrows workout and get 8 hours of great sleep.It's all about priorities and choices. Every day. Every choice.
Makes a big difference, especially over the long run,positive or negative, which is where all the real progress takes place.If you aren't in it for the long haul you are't in it.
Rest is not the same as sleep and those who never sit down and put their legs up will have very dead legs the next day. This is especially true for endurance athletes,bodybuilders and powerlifters. trying to get to the top of your game requires quite a bit of work and sacrifice, just no way around it.
As I write this though I am struck by how much things have changed for me.Again, this is from the perspective of the specialist athlete whose main purpose was to progress in competition. The concept of the "human animal" who is not training for sepcialzed sport competition but to be "ever ready and fit" to survive is a different way of thinking, and of training for me.
But to progress in your discipline of choice you must be able to do harder and harder workouts. To do that you have to figure out how to recover as fast and completely as possible between sessions.Its all part of the puzzle of experiements and discovery that is training.
You can only make as much progress as you can handle loads in training.FOr instance, if you want to squat 500 pounds as a max you need to be able to train with 70-85% of that, or 350-425 lbs on a regular basis. We can argue as to how often and much much you should train with those loads but the key is being able to work with those weights. If you can do the workouts but they break you down so much you dont get stronger. you get weaker.so recovery is key and is truly the factor limiting how good you will get.
If you want to run a 4 min mile you better be able to do the 20 quarters in 63 seconds that the top milers can do with ease.Not only do those workouts but recover from them stronger than you were going in. Not an easy task and one that requires considerable sacrifice and dedication to accomplish.Building up to those required loads takes many many progressive workouts. And you have to recover from each one. the less the recovery the greater the chance of injury as well.
There are a multiple of facets to increasing recovery not the least of which is anabolics which work well( in the short run) and are easy. Hence their popularity. The least popular are the ones that require thought,work and discipline such as regular massage and body therapy, stretching, active recovery work,nutrition,visualization and not the least of which a very calm, balanced lifestyle and lots of rest as well as sleep.
Olympic and true professional athletes are very lazy when they are not training as they are very jealous of their recovery energy and know the more they waste with superfluous activities the slower their progress will be. It's all a choice of course. Stay out late, have some drinks and party a bit or watch a dvd, doing some mental preparation for the tomorrows workout and get 8 hours of great sleep.It's all about priorities and choices. Every day. Every choice.
Makes a big difference, especially over the long run,positive or negative, which is where all the real progress takes place.If you aren't in it for the long haul you are't in it.
Rest is not the same as sleep and those who never sit down and put their legs up will have very dead legs the next day. This is especially true for endurance athletes,bodybuilders and powerlifters. trying to get to the top of your game requires quite a bit of work and sacrifice, just no way around it.
As I write this though I am struck by how much things have changed for me.Again, this is from the perspective of the specialist athlete whose main purpose was to progress in competition. The concept of the "human animal" who is not training for sepcialzed sport competition but to be "ever ready and fit" to survive is a different way of thinking, and of training for me.
But to progress in your discipline of choice you must be able to do harder and harder workouts. To do that you have to figure out how to recover as fast and completely as possible between sessions.Its all part of the puzzle of experiements and discovery that is training.
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9 comments:
Right on as usual. This is the drive home point that most trainees, including myself at times, fail to realize, understand, and therefore implement.
The key, as you said, is rest v. sleep. This is difficult as a Personal Trainer/PT Business Owner because your mind is always working.
Since you currently do so much prehab/rehab work right now that many would use for restorative measures, what are you currently doing for "rest?" DVD watching? That's a favorite of mine, especially on Friday nights.
thanks geoff. One of the things about having my knee is that it will only hold me up for so long.
That time frame is getting better as I get more "unwound" and my legs get stronger and my gait gets better but its a forked up joint and will only hold so much work.
So I have to lay down,put my legs up and watch tv or a dvd as I do the thumper on my IT band, calves and hams.kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
I also take some seriously hot baths, especially in winter, although also in summer, to get the tension out.
static stretching on the floor also fulfils that role and really helps me stay loose and the joints more open.getting on the floor is as restorative to me as laying down.
I have to do this daily or I am so kinked up I cant walk at all.no fun but hey, what do ya do?
Rif,
Great stuff lately - taming that beast inside that craves the intensity is the key - approaching the training with a calm instead of a storm.
Recovery is tough - mental, emotional, and physical must all be addressed - Nutrition and yoga have become central to this for me.
brett, thanks man, that is greatly appreciated. glad to see you post, I welcome your input as always.
I like this
"taming that beast inside that craves the intensity is the key "
man that hit the mail on the head for me. I have always trained as much or more because I freakin LOVE to train hard than I do for the results. ANd while it has gotten some progress it has also cost me physically.
Now that I am going to be a half freakin century old in March I have to be really carefull.Painfree BEFORE stronger.
and I agree also that all the yoga and tons of greens and great real food is critical.
I almost have to stretch out in a 2:1 ratio to my training to have a chance of staying loose.
Amen. Amen. Amen. Hallelujiah!
Right on Rif! Boy do I now about recovery, or lack of recovery. I seem to get into a pattern of overtraining and then having to back way off. Like this week I have taken off. But I feel much better. I think training 5 to 6 weeks on and then taking one week off works well. And of course as you said, it's what you are doing outside of the gym that really counts.
Thanks for the insights dude. I learn or re-learn something every time I read your blog.
Royce
What I am finding (if I could stick with it) is I recover better if I do a little every day...even 2X a day. Divide up the weekly load into smaller bites. After the holidays I'm going to to try to model more closely one of my masters heroes Joe Delago who trains 3-4 times a day 6 days a week at age 54. Squats for a 20 minutes, mows the lawn. Snatches for 20 minutes, does some paper work, clean pulls for a few sets, makes some lunch etc. He owns his own ad agency and has a platform and bumpers at work so he trains there all day too. His weekly volume isn't that high...it's just a nip here and there all day every day. Becomes more like a form of manual labor than a "workout".
randy,
that just wouldnt work for me.I have spent too many years doing "workouts" and would have a very hard time just "dropping into" a set of anything. takes me a long time towarmup. I do do something everyday though, thats for sure;but it usually is yoga like stretches and poses.
one of the points of the post is that in order to create adaptation onehas to overload and then recover before overloading again.
no overload no forward progress, at least in terms of intensity or volume. maintenance is a whole nother story.
thanks for the comments though it is appreciated!
I'm all for dvd watching. I often try to do too much the day after a heavy workout. At some point I realize I'm stressed, pumping out cortisol and didn't eat right because I was in a rush. The hardest part is to give myself permission to rest. I remember the football players at Michigan during their time off were some of the laziest mofo's around, slouching and loping along in flip-flops and sweats. They were onto something.
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