When was your last deload?

Hi Athletes!

I want to talk a little bit today about training and deload. What is a deload? It is an intentional rest week where you greatly reduce your activity. Those who do any kind of distance racing might know this as tapering before your race, but it has a place outside of competition as well and it can benefit all athletes - human and equine.

I bring this up because I am in this phase of my training AND I was just covering this topic with a Mongol Derby trainee.

When it comes to a training program, I have noticed how much people are attracted to the 30 day programs. It’s a special magic number. You see it on the magazines, online challenges, books, and gyms. It is a nice bite size number which can encourage us to get started when we are feeling a little overwhelmed.

The problem is health, fitness and life in general isn’t done in 30 days. It is a continuous endeavor whether you are training for a big event or not.

If the 30 day program was successful, you are feeling motivated to get started on another, and another, and another. At some point in time, you have built in habits and a mentality that you need to be constantly working out and progressing in order to be successful. That’s when it all falls apart.

Does this sound familiar?

Here is the thing… if you don’t give your body the chance to deload (think rest and recover), it is going to force one upon you with injury or exhaustion. More is not always more… BUT if you take the opportunity to do a deload, you are almost guaranteed to be able to do more on your return.

So what is the magic recipe for a deload? How often and what does it look like?

Well… that is a difficult question because everyone is going to be different. However, here are two tips you can use to get started. Make sure to check in frequently with your body and energy levels to see if you need more or less.

Follow a 5 week schedule: 4 weeks on, 1 week deload

Deload = 50% of a regular week (either in intensity, frequency, duration/mileage, or all)

Remember, we still have rest days in our “on” weeks. The deload is an extra chance for your body to recover. It can be a big mental step to scale it back when you are used to going hard, but trust in the process and the value of rest in your programme.

So if you have been enjoying those 30 day programs, perfect timing! Take a week, then get back at it. Trust me, you won’t be losing out!

Cheers!

-Sarah