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How to stay motivated & fit through the off-season - by Sylvie Dansereau
Fall and winter is a common time for race season to come to an end. It is a good opportunity to let your body recuperate from the rigors of high intensity training and racing. Many athletes however struggle to keep their motivation after their last race of the season and may confuse reduced training with no training and take as much as four or more weeks off. Sometimes it is necessary to take an extended break from training in order to properly recover after a hard season. But very often this is not required and many athletes simply get out of their training groove and get lazy and miss training more because of lack of motivation and focus than a real need for recovery. The loss of fitness caused by this time off will require a lot of work down the road to get back to previous fitness levels, never mind making fitness gains.
A better approach than taking extended time away from training would be to enter a "transition" period in which physical activity (volume and intensity) is reduced, perhaps greatly, but a level of fitness is maintained. It takes a relatively small amount of training volume to maintain fitness, when compared with building fitness. So one may argue that there is no true “off season” but rather proper periodization of your training to allow your body to recover without losing excessive fitness. Off-season or transition programs should be designed to allow athletes to mentally rejuvenate, while minimizing the loss of physiological adaptations gained during the previous season. Thus, by preventing dramatic detraining in the off-season, athletes can build upon training adaptations and become fitter each season. Rather than considering the off season as a time to stop training, approach it as a pre season where you will lay the foundation for next year’s success.
First you should look back, then plan ahead.
Now that the triathlon season is over for you, take this time to reflect on what you achieved this year. Did you meet all your goals? You should take a few moments and write down all that went right for you this year and all that didn't. If things didn’t go the way you wanted, why didn’t they? Was it lack of planning, discipline or motivation? On the other hand, if things went the way you wanted, what helped you the most? Was it that you had a solid training plan and guidance, the discipline and focus to stick to a smart plan? It could be a number of things.
The next step is to determine your top priorities for next year. Think about your goals and key races for next season and write down some of the key elements you would like to focus on to help you achieve your objectives. Remember to keep your goals specific, relevant and realistic. Finally don’t forget that a goal without a sound plan is just a dream!
After 7-14 days of complete rest you should enter your transition phase which can last 2-6 weeks. During this portion of your training your activity does not need to be specific to your sport but you should introduce some sort of general cardiovascular exercise every other day while still making sure to take full days off. If you feel like you need another day off- take it. Remember to keep your exercise fun and varied. Consider taking a run through the woods instead of sticking to the road or the treadmill. Take your bicycle off the road and enjoy the scenery on the off road trails around your area. Mountain biking is great for developing your cadence and bike handling skills. In winter snow shoeing, cross country skiing, trail running, and hiking are a few examples of cross training methods. Make sure you are having fun, and do not forget to raise your heart rate from time to time. You should however leave you heart rate monitor and other monitoring tools at home and just go by what feels good and keep it comfortable! Try new routes or do other sports you enjoy but never seem to have time for. Select an activity you take pleasure in, but make sure you challenge your energy systems in one way or another. Team sports help develop fitness and agility which can have a positive impact on your triathlon abilities. Lateral motion, short sprints and coordination play an important role in the development of the athlete and these skills are not a part of a regular triathlon training regimen but still beneficial. They also have the advantage more social interactions than typical triathlon training. Just remember to take it easy at the beginning before your body is accustomed to the new activity. The off season is also an excellent time to catch up on some lost sleep you may have sacrificed during the season. Regaining sleep is just as important as getting fit so there should very few early morning calls for training at this time of the year.
After the transition period you will enter into a base building period of training. During this time you will be building an aerobic base which is critical for good performance later in the season. This is also a great time to pay close attention to technique and perfect your spin, stride, and stroke so that you do not reinforce bad habits. During the racing season many athletes are so worried about split times and distance that they forget about technique. Off season is great for skill/technique development activities. Small changes in biomechanics can minimize the likelihood of injuries and improve efficiency and consequently we can go faster with less energy. Efficiency is a huge component of becoming a faster athlete.
You should be practicing technique heavily during the off season and maintain it during training season. It takes time to train the neuromuscular system and change rhythm. The body has a strong memory and will always go back to the movement pattern you normally do. Adding miles and miles in your training program will only make it harder and harder to develop the new efficient form for each sport. The off season is a great time to develop that stroke, running style and biking technique.
Swimming
This is the most technical of the 3 sports and for many athletes the biggest limiter. Regardless of your swim level, every off season you should focus on improving and/or reestablishing your swim technique. For example two inches lift of the head can result in a 12 inch drop of the feet and cost you a lot of time over 3.8 km! If needed, let your times slip a little as you change your focus to perfecting various components of your swimming. Consider having your stroke video analyzed by a competent coach. He or she may also give you specific drills to help you correct your particular limiters in your swim stroke. If you improve technique you'll be going faster while using the same amount of energy.
Cycling and running
Cycling and running also have very important skill components. Many triathletes are satisfied to do as much volume and intensity as they can handle without giving a second thought to developing correct technique. Focus on your cycling technique by improving your body position and your pedal stroke during winter. If your bike is uncomfortable this is the best time of the year to get a new bike or get a professional bike fit on your old bike. This will allow time to adjust to your new position before your training requires more volume again. In addition, consider returning to run drills (your ABCs) in the off-season to improve your stride and running economy. This is the perfect time to seek help of coaches and people with more experience than you to help you become more proficient at all 3 sports as well as keep you motivated. Consider joining a good Masters group, or finding more experienced training partners to give you some feedback on your technique. Finding a good training clinic or camp in the winter will also help keep you motivated and increase your knowledge base.
You should remember to spend more time on your greatest limiter but avoid the temptation to return to what you are most comfortable doing and make sure the time is spent breaking the pattern of old bad habits. Keep in mind to include time for stretching and doing specific core and, if needed, functional strength work to correct possible muscular imbalances.
The off-season could be argued as a very important time of the training year. If you are an athlete who trains only in the race season you have probably noticed your performance has not improved much from year to year. Instead of building on your past season you are trying to get back to your previous level of performance each year. Each season should be a step up towards better performance. Have a great off-season, and you will likely have great success the following season. Have a poorly planned off-season, with emphasis on the wrong types of training, too much time off or not enough time to rest and refresh, and you may be mentally or physically broken, or in such poor shape at the beginning of the season that you must play catch-up the rest of the year. Just keep in mind that you cannot maintain peak physical conditioning for all 52 weeks of the year. Enjoy the off-season and take advantage of the time to do other activities you enjoy but don’t let yourself go completely!!!
Sylvie
Dansereau is a coach with NRG Performance Training. For more information
you can contact Sylvie at sylvie@nrgpt.com
or visit www.nrgpt.com.