When To Take Rest Days For Scientific Recovery
If getting fitter is your goal you can’t afford to neglect recovery when planning your training. Many coaches believe that you should measure your fatigue levels daily to decide whether you are rested enough to train at all. For anyone struggling to fit their training around the pressures of work, a family and social life, all this rest and recovery sounds like wasted training. Unless you can recognise when all these pressures become too much, you’ll end up losing weeks of training due to injury, illness or long-term fatigue. For athletes who use high-intensity sessions to squeeze extra fitness from limited time, being fresh and ready to train hard is essential because slogging through intervals with tired limbs reduces the fitness gains achieved.
Sometimes it can be hard to know when to train and when to rest. That’s why I want to show you some methods that can help you decide when to rest and when to train, without any lingering doubts in your mind. By knowing the best times to train or rest you can train more consistently and ultimately become fitter than ever before. Wisdom also suggests that an easy week each month where training time is reduced by 30-50% allows your hard training sink in, meaning you are completely recovered and ready to tackle your next week’s training. The simplicity of this approach is a major attraction for those balancing training and recovery, but with busy lives and demanding jobs sometimes you need more time to recover from training.
A sudden change in RHR of more than 5% over two or more consecutive days is a sign that you should back off your training to allow recovery. So if you’re leading a busy life, balancing your triathlon training with a wealth of other responsibilities, maybe you need to start taking your recovery as seriously as your training.
Busy weekend ahead for triathletes in Europe; Tarragona, Wuustwezel and Bucharest
It’s going to be a busy weekend as we look towards the Juniors racing at the inaugural 2018 Bucharest ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup, the Elite racing at the 2018 Wuustwezel ETU Sprint Triathlon European Cup and a number of athletes focussing their attention on the 2018 Tarragona Mediterranean Games. The 18th edition of the Mediterranean Games will see medals awarded for the best triathletes who will race over the sprint distance. The races take place on 23rd June and to follow the event, click onto this link. We can expect ideal racing conditions for this sprint race, with some top names choosing to compete. A huge Elite Women start list will ensure the racing is a thrill from start to finish.
None of the 2017 medal winners will be racing so watch out for. The Men’s race will see gold and bronze medal winners, Marten van Riel BEL and Márk Dévay HUN return. Van Riel’s solid performance last weekend in Antwerp at the World Cup, where the run was just a bit too much for him, saw a podium opportunity evaporate as he crossed the line in 4th. The mix of World Cup regulars and many athletes from outside Europe will mean that the after party will be one of the biggest. As the elite athletes in Wuustwezel begin their races, the new generation of Junior athletes who are signed up to race in Bucharest will be sitting back to analyse their results.
The juniors will be racing as part of a massive downtown triathlon festival right in the centre of the Romanian capital. With ten national federations represented in the Junior Women’s race, we might well see Zara Baković CRO leading them out of the water. With the 6-lap technical bike course we can expect to see some powerful riding to break the lead. The Junior Men will see 9 National Federations represented.
Josh Boxer’s Triathletes of Marin: Coach Kosiek’s Tri Grit team set to tackle Marin County Triathlon
When 800 athletes hit the water at the start of the Marin County Triathlon this weekend, one thing is certain – no one will be as prepared as the members of Tri Grit, this year’s official training partner. Tri Grit’s team members, led by coach Noel Kosiek, 39, have practiced every twist and turn of the course, pushing themselves and supporting each other while maintaining busy lives. Kosiek, a Marin native who now lives in San Rafael, fell in love with triathlon when she raced the Wildflower Triathlon as a student at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She has tried to introduce athletes of all skill levels to the sport, first as a corporate trainer, and then as head coach of See Jane Run, the all-women’s team. In the fall, her athletes train for the Marin County Triathlon.
Because it is right in our backyard, Kosiek never misses an opportunity to bring her athletes out to the Marin County Tri course. It is no wonder that Tri Grit won the team division last year, and may just take home the win once again. Above all, Kosiek strives to ensure that her program is compatible with her athletes’ busy lives. That balance is critical for Tri Grit athlete, Kevin Pratt. Just as Kosiek always tries to practice out on the Marin County Tri’s run course, she also makes sure that the athletes are comfortable with the specialized skills that open-water swimming requires.
After coaching the athletes through a series of brick workouts – combinations of swimming and biking, biking and running, or swimming and running – Kosiek stages a series of practice races in order to help build her athletes’ confidence. Mark Liebert, race director of the Marin County Tri, is looking forward to another exciting race, the proceeds of which support the Sustainable Sports Foundation.
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