When a large glassy set of swells roll into a point break surfers suddenly down tools, scramble to the beach and make the most of it when its around.

When sentiment towards a company improves they scramble to secure cheaper equity funds on the back of a rising share price

When the fish are around the trawler men stay out at sea for days pulling as many into the boat as they can. On the other days they mend nets or take some time out

So why is it that athletes tend to be so rigid in their behaviour?

Your energy levels are no different to the surf, business cycles or schools of fish.  They go up and down and not always predictably. By being inflexible in your approach the following things can occur

-You try to train hard on a day that you are low and end up even lower

-You do a short session on a day when you have buckets of energy and end up cruising through it- with minimal adaptions

-You end up sick

Most athletes have one or two high points a week. It’s seldom for more than two days in a row. Over the years we have found that some of the following ideas can make the most of those high points:

Guidlines for “high” days

a.Bookend same day sessions-the day you do hard windtrainer interval session your nervous system is “up”  Doing a short run interval session later straight after works very well because its still in the same window

b. Continuous/Combination sessions on same day eg hard swim followed by long ride followed by windtrainer

c. Back to Back Days eg Hard run before hard ride the next day or the traditional long ride sat/long ride sun thing

d. Extend key workout and/or increase intensity during last 40mins - eg pushing to fatique and past in the last 40mins of a 5hr ride

Usually 2 days after a hard session is when the soreness and recovery process begins- so by wedging a few of your key workouts together you make advantage of the “high”

We find that many athletes will have a strong point about Wed and then Sunday after they’ve had a day to wind down from work.  To make avail of this the key long run might be on Wed and the long ride on Sunday

Conversely if there is no energy there- why dig a hole- make the most of it -go walk or get a massage or adapt your workout

Swimming with a pool buoy the day after a hard ride can be the difference between a quality session and slow mindless rubbish- you might as well work your upper body if its fresh-this allows you to condition your upper body the right way

Moving your key long run a day or two later is an excellent idea if you feel there’s not enough energy to complete it properly.

This approach requires integrity and honesty with yourself- it means that on your “on” days you need to be genuine about going for it. If its a sunny day and you are feeling great why not add 30mins to the end of that run and push into a new level? You cant ultimately expect every session to start feeling brilliant. Just have the radar on for the true “lows”

So what about the other end of the spectrum- how do you approach those low days?

Ideas for “low” days

a. splitting workouts- eg 20min run in am at very slow pace to wake up the nervous system, harder 40 min later when it kicks in

b. short/frequent workouts- we often find those starting back or in the IM blues stage are better doing regular short sessions in lieu of fewer long sessions. this helps provide regular endorphins but allows extended rest by avoiding the duration workouts. On flat days often just doing a 20min swim/30min ride/20 min run will help you relax and loosen up without sitting around all day feeling lousy

c. modifying/aborting workouts- there are days when its genuinely a good idea to turn a run into a walk or cut that 100km ride shorter. If you are smart you’ll tune into the signs. For example if you can feel an injury flaring up or you cant get your heart rate up because you are overtired- then think about quitting while you are ahead.

d. do something else- shock horror……..there are other things to do but train? get your tax return done so when you want to go for that 8hr ride next month you arent sitting inside doing tax on a sunny day. Get that broken stuff at home fixed. All of that stuff provides the organisation to be a better athlete. Its actually time invested in your future training

On aborting workouts

There tend to be two extremes here- those who are terrified of ever missing a day and those that look for any reason. Most serious athletes tend to fall into the first group. The key here to recognise that days off or rest are a form of training. (on the proviso that you actually get the work done up to that point)

As experience grows many athletes get better at recognising those truly low days and are able to abort them guilt free without trying to do makeup sessions.  Some of the best athletes we have ever trained with are hopeless at it. As a result they often end up with poor race results and suffer big lows and highs. It takes self confidence to be resting when others are out training.

There will also be some people who read these posts who genuinely live in denial. They call themselves athletes and have a cupboard full of M Dot gear. However they are always needing rest, and not “feeling right” missing sessions or overdoing others so much they cant train for 4 days. For this group we would say that as long as you are getting benefit out of a session you shouldnt be aborting it. Training is uncomfortable and leaves you feeling flat- especially the last 10% of a workout. Thats the idea of it. So dont be the guy who always dogs the last 10%. Keep fishing when its raining- when you see a waterspout pack up.

Breaking the boundaries on those high days

If you ever worry about not training enough then you can always go harder on the “on” days or in races. The same people who tend to never miss a session quite often never break the boundaries either. They continuously complete workouts that they can already do rain hail or shine, tired or rested.

Personally I would rather attempt something in training I CANT do than something that I CAN already do. Isn’t that the idea? When you get those “high” days- go somewhere into the unknown when you scare yourself. Racing is the perfect time for this- which is why I mostly cover my PM or run watch in racing. I want the data but I dont want it to set the limits

Over reaching v Overtraining

for simplicity lets say training breaks us down in 3 ways:

a. in a way that we recover from quickly (days)
b. in a way that can take a reasonable time to recover (many days or a couple weeks)-overreached
c. in a way that takes a long time to recover (many weeks or months)- overtrained

type c. is counterproductive as it stops training stimulus from being effective

now there is a whole lot of mumbo jumbo on sub classifications of this which I dont think are usefull outside a SS lab

it is normal after a heavy training block to cycle downwards while the body repairs
if this continues on for months you have defenitely overdone it
over time you get better at monitoring training loads and the tell tale signs that a big hole is coming

the common mistakes are to back way too late (overtain) and hit a huge hole -this is the rarity amongst AG
OR to hit a small hole and then overcorrect- which then reduces the training stimulus/slows adaption periodically

in simple terms if the pattern continues downward for several weeks its time to back off
but dont use every time you feel flat for a few days as an excuse

The traps of training to a “schedule”

Training to a 7 day schedule or 3-4 weeks cycle where every session is a prescription or a linear progression is the opposite of this approach. Its seductive to the western brain, looks great in spreadsheets and sells well. Its also very dangerous when an athlete has no regard for their energy level.  Its also wasting time….why?

This game is all about adaption right? Due something you cant do until you adapt and get the hang of it. Adaption rates vary widely depending on the skill, the genetics, the season, rest levels etc

Lets say we give an athlete a “Build” period and we watch the pace of their long run climb for a given heart rate. After 4 weeks they still feel fresh and are still adapting. Then why would we go and schedule a recovery week just because it looks orderly? Keep the adaption going right?

Conversly if this same person was doing a speed block and started to feel a bit low after 2 weeks and having a hard time recovering properly we might schedule an easier week before going again.

The common denominator is tuning into the highs and lows- when the fish are biting keep fishing- when they are absent go in and spend time mending the nets. Unless you tune into the lows and highs- and do something constructive with them- you are going to improve much slower than those who train like robots

The old dichotomies between control and creativity, between linear and lateral progression, between structured and uncontrolled are relevant to the topic

If you are all about control, linear progression and structure then its difficult to accomodate the lows and highs of energy levels- no different to some people cant handle relationships that are anything other than routine and predicatable

For this reason there are some good athletes who train with very little program in advance- scheduling their workouts purely by feel with a big picture objective across the period eg 3×2.5hr runs @x pace during the month

This is at the other end of the spectrum and some coaches work successfully like this with disciplined athletes – ie provide the key sessions but its up to the athlete to complete them based on how they feel

If you cant be trusted or cant tune into those signals of low and high Im afraid you are better off in the regular army and marching when they tell you.

The post race or post season blues

We speak to many athletes that experience an extended “low” after a big race or during the off season. (eg the old saying “The IM blues”). The most overused word on TV is “depressed”. Likewise the most overused word with amateur athletes is “overtrained”. Very few amateur athletes overtrain in the truest sense of the word. Many get injured or are very inconsisent as a result of overreaching too much in a few sessions.

Seldom its a terminal problem if you embrace the idea that “lows” are not a bad thing. It is quite normal to feel a bit mellow and not want to push yourself for a few weeks after IM. The worst thing you can do is to fight it and try and get back “up” straight away. We see this time after time- people who need to mellow out but want to get back to the next high. As a result they stay flat for an extended time and cant make the most of the next “high” in their energy levels. Plan some other projects, see some friends, clean up your house, go surfing, enjoy feeling a bit “melancholic” and read a book. After you’ve done that get ready to go really hard again not half arsed. Chances are you’ll avoid a low that goes for months

Tune into your highs and lows and you’ll have a much happier and successfull day out there. You’ll also avoid those extended “blues” and lows that span multiple months.

Happy surfing