Photo: Waist deep in Eagle’s Nest, Alta, UT. Photo by Robert McCord, 2008.
Achieving big athletic goals requires a capacity and affinity for hard work. Successful athletes train hard. As physical and mental stress increases, the need for rest and recovery accumulates. Continuously hard workouts reach a point of diminishing returns. When you hit that tipping point you need to step back and let your body and mind recover. Recovery is one of the most difficult aspects of training to get right. In planning recovery periods, you need to answer the questions how, when, and how long. The sooner you recover, the quicker you can get back to training hard.
During recovery, the body realizes changes in form. These changes include improved fat burning and decreases in body fat; stronger and more resilient muscles and tendons; greater heart stroke volume; increased lung capacity; increase in muscular capillary density; and enhanced glycogen storage. Allowing this adaptation sets the stage for an increase in workload in the next training stage.
In my nine week Deliberate Training Program, I set aside every third week for active recovery. In the first week I did 6 hours of exercise, second week 10 hours, and the third week five hours. My recovery week included two complete rest days and reduced workloads. For the week, I kept my protein consumption at 120 to 150 grams of protein per day to aid in muscle reconstruction. I limited my carb intake as much as possible (Thanksgiving week) to fruits and vegetables.
By the end of the week, I feel rested and ready for a tough week. The next two weeks of training will be focused on building strength.
Here is my workout for Week Three: Week 3_Active Rest and Recovery 11_19_18
Steve – i have been looking for a scheduled workout for ice climbing – thanks. I have a few questions on the exercises. Please send links or descriptions on these exercises: rotary hip flexor, hip abductor, and incline prone bench row. Please explain whether the plate press it is unclear if you mean doing a standing plate press while standing on single leg. Likewise please explain the stability ball sit ups, there are a bunch of ways to do this. Lastly, I would have thought to incorporate more core workouts. thanks and looking forward to future postings.