Recovery - what it's really all about

The start of the new year and many athletes (depending on their schedule) would have completed their base training; they would have laid down the infrastructure of copious amounts of miles and conditioned their bodies for the next phase of training: lactate endurance.

In this phase recovery is paramount for any athlete looking to maximise their potential. To reach the top in any sport a systematic approach to training is crucial to guarantee the most beneficial gains. "Making every day count," "pushing yourself to the limit," "breaking down the boundaries," are all concepts that every athlete employs, but the stage where a lot of athletes fall is recovery. Recovery is not about "doing" and "pushing through," it is about putting the right nutrients back in, so the body can repair and rebuild itself. It is ultimately about being elegant and gentle with yourself and simply being able to relax into your training by keeping it very light once the hard sessions have been carried out.

In single sports, like swimming and running for example, if a hard training set was carried out then the next day will normally be easy and the muscles that were used on that hard day are given plenty of time to recover. However, triathlon caters for 3 sports and getting the balance of all 3 sports is crucial for a successful season and longevity in the sport.

The understanding should begin with the notion that we all "have one heart and a pair of lungs," so no matter what sport is carried out we are always stressing these organs and thus, need to realise that they need to recover just as much as the sport specific muscles. Most athletes know that after exercise and especially anything that is maximal, a protein/carbohydrate drink is essential to have straight away. The "window of opportunity" as lot of literature points out, is approximately 30min and it is in this time that the muscles are at their highest rate of absorption. However, what needs to be emphasised a lot are the effects on the neuro muscular system and how long it takes for glycogen to actually be replenished to its full capacity. The recovery drink definitely kicks starts this process, but how long until we are fully recovered?

 With 3 sports to train means you are 3 times more likely to get recovery wrong. When it goes wrong over training syndrome, chronic fatigue and lack of motivation are a result. I believe the main reason for this is that many triathletes do not know how to train the next day following maximal efforts. After ingesting plenty of carbohydrates, proteins and good fats, many athletes will believe that this is enough and wake up the next morning and try and do it all again. It takes about 48hrs to replenish glycogen stores and about the same or more time for all hormonal responses to settle down and become aligned with the body. By going out the next day and training hard will only disrupt this process and therefore, prevent the body from fully adapting. If this is repeated on a regular basis the chance to fully adapt will not happen, athletes will not be able to give 100% and ultimately, their potential will never be realised.

A reason why this could be the case is because there maybe consistent training in zones 3/4. These two zones are the "uncomfortable" zones where the heart rate is fairly high, you can not really hold a conversation and things do not feel relaxed. In these zones glycogen will begin to be used as the body is demanding more oxygen to supplement the muscular demands. It will feel like you are not pushing yourself, but are getting a "workout" nonetheless. The physiological gains at these zones are minimal when training with maximal sessions in your programme. The key is to train at fat burning zones 1/2 on recovery days. At these zones you can hold a conversation and in theory continue for a long time. The advantages of training at this intensity is that your glycogen stores will not be used because the amount of oxygen required to support the muscular demands are met. The added bonus is that you can still keep the training volume high while pushing yourself further. In your fat burning zones, an athlete is very capable of training 5/6hours the day after a maximal effort session, but only if they train at a very low intensity and listen to how the body is responding to the demands from exercise.

By alternating max efforts and fat burning into your training and taking 36/48hrs easy coupled with plenty of food and fluid, there is no reason why you can not reach your potential. I believe this is how the top triathletes stay at the top and how others get there and fall very quickly. By knowing your body and having the confidence to listen to it, you will know when to go hard and when to go easy. By training in this elegant way and doing the basics right, success will only be a matter of time.

2012 at last!

Finally 2011 has come to an end and I felt a breath of fresh air when the clock struck 12 on new years eve. To me it was closure on a roller coaster year and the beginning of another chapter. As much as this post can be a platform for some cathartic writing, I will save that for another time and focus on what is really important: solid winter training!

As I entered Xmas I was fortunate to have covered about 10 weeks of solid base training. This type of training was focused on the "hours" and the "miles." Without becoming to OCD with these two terms I embarked on a training plan to gradually increase my training volume to a point where I was regularly churning out 28hr weeks. The focus was to make sure I ran 70miles a week and bike about 12/14hrs. Fortunately, after a lot of perseverance through the cold patch in December, this was achieved.

As I enter the second phase of training where the aim will be introducing sessions while maintainsing the volume, recovery is paramount in my development as an elite triathlete and thus, maximising my potential. Many times I have fallen short at this hurdle: pushing too hard too early, not knowing when to rest and not listening to my body. This phase of training, I believe, can make or break you as an athlete. Everyone can do the odd session well, but only a few can recover and do it again week in week out at their maximal. I believe this is where the brownlee's shine and their recovery is incredibly effective.

Pictures and information on recovery to follow!