Break time

A training buddy of mine called it quits today. Sorry that sounded a bit melodramatic, they didn't call it quits permanently, just for the season, which is getting into its final month anyway. They had planned to train to the end of the season, but they have essentially decided to pull up stumps a bit early and head into the off season now. Why?

Well, it is pretty simple, they are worn out. They have been training and racing pretty full on since around August last year, with some particularly big A races in the second half of 2018. They kept planning on having a bit of a break, but there was always one more race to train for, one more week of training to do. They have kept that up for about as long as they could, but the ebbing motivation, the physical tiredness and the strain on other aspects of life have all meant that now felt like a good time to take a step away.

This story is one that we see time and time again. People pushing on, week after week, sometimes even season after season with very little down time, until finally something gives and they need to have a break. When training is going well it can feel pretty easy to push on. Ironically this can exacerbated by throwing in the occasional good race which can really help to re-charge the motivation levels and re-invigorate drive and energy. Often people will push through a season and a bit of training with very little down time, but the fade always gets them in the end.

No matter how dedicated an athlete is eventually the motivation wanes, the passion starts to fade, sessions are less effective, program compliance drops and generally the whole shebang becomes a bunch less fun. At this point a break is usually around the corner and sometimes it can be a big one as people take time away to find their passion again and wait for the desire to train to return. Sometimes that can take a while.

The above is why we usually advise our athletes to take a break at the end of the season. Not necessarily a long break, normally about two weeks, and not being completely inactive, but just a break away from structured training. Often when we advise this break athletes don't want to take it, they usually have just finished a race and are feeling on top of the world and the last thing they want to do is stop training. Plus a lot of athletes have an overwhelming fear of losing fitness, which means they are often reluctant to stop training. However, we know from experience that they will need a break at some point and we are better off choosing when that break occurs rather than waiting for the break to choose us. By selecting to take a break we are in control, we can choose how long the break is and when to return. This then allows us to put together season after season of sustainable consistent training, which is where the real success in sport comes from.

It is a case of short term loses to very long term gains.