Maintaining Fitness in the Off Season

For many beginner triathletes, the off season is a funny place. What does off season mean?  Do you stop training?  How much rest is too much?  How do I structure my training?  These are some of the questions I've gotten as a coach and I will do my best to tackle them in this post.

I know when I started out in triathlon, after my last race of the season, I stopped training completely for at least a month, probably longer.  I had no fall races planned and I thought because I was relatively fit, I could stop all activity and pick up where I left off.  HA.  Was I ever wrong.  You know that saying Use it or Lose it?  That's exactly what happened to me.  I didn't have a big fitness base at the time so taking over a month off resulted in some serious deconditioning.  I would stay that when I got back to regular activity that I was starting from square one but it was pretty close.  It usually takes about 7-14 days for endurance to start to decline so bear that in mind when taking time off.  The theory is the bigger the base of fitness you have, the longer it will take you to become deconditioned.   So seasoned athletes can afford to take a bit more time off without losing too much fitness.  Beginner athletes shouldn't take too much time off if they want to maintain a good measure of fitness.

How much time is enough? 

How much time "off" depends on the length and intensity of the last race of your season.  The shorter the race, generally the faster you recover.   If you've done a summer of sprint racing, then I'd suggest a week to 10 days off any structured swimming, biking or running for you to relax and regroup.  That may not be necessary for you to fully recover physically but you may need to mentally recharge as well.  If that means sitting on the couch for a week binge watching Game of Thrones, then so be it.  After that getting back to some kind of regular activity is key to maintaining your fitness over the winter.

For myself, I always like to take at least 5-7 days off completely after a major event like a marathon or a half ironman.  That doesn't mean I'm sitting around on the couch.  I still like to move my body so I will go for a walk or do some gentle yoga.  If I've run a marathon, I find one of the best things for my legs is swimming.  Recovery varies by individual.  Some people take longer to recover, others take less time.  Men tend to recover faster than women and the younger you are, the faster you recover.  So us old broads really need to learn to listen to our bodies, ha ha.

Structuring Your Training

As I mentioned in this post, this is the time of year where you focus on improving your weakest link in the sport.  A typical training week in season looks something like this:  Swim 3x a week, run 3x week bike 3x a week.  In off season for me, it looks more like this:  Swim 4x a week, bike 3-4x a week run 2x a week.  Running is hardest on my body so I prefer to do less of it.  That is just enough to maintain a decent amount of running specific fitness, especially if one of the runs is a long run.  Swimming is my weakest link so I'm adding a 4th swim that is all technique and drill focused vs. volume.   And it's now cyclocross season so I will be doing one ride a week like that and then ideally 2-3 more easy rides.

Off season isn't the time for high volume or a lot of high intensity.   My training volume in the off season is about 1/2 to 2/3 of what it would be during my race season.

Integrating Strength Training

This time of year is the best time of year to bring regular strength training back into your training as well.  You don't need to spend hours in the gym.  Two 30-45 minute sessions a week is great.  If you can do three times a week that's even better.  Start by working on muscular endurance with lighter weights and higher reps, and build to working on strength and power with heavier weights and lower reps or some plyometric work.  In the off season I like to do my weight workouts after a short run or ride.  The cardio element can be your warm up so you are ready to tackle your weight workout.  I have some weights in my basement along side my indoor trainer so when I'm done my ride, I can start my weight workout.  It's the most effective use of my time.

Staying Motivated

Over the years I've managed to become fairly self motivated in terms of my cycling and running.  Swimming is where I have a hard time.  Knowing that, I joined a Masters swim club.  If there is any sport that you have a tough time getting done on your own because you either 1) don't enjoy pushing yourself in that sport or 2) you're not sure what kind of workouts to do, then I'd highly recommend you join a training group.  The Toronto Triathlon Club offers coached swim sessions across the city and there are various Masters groups as well.  If the thought of spending solo hours on the trainer isn't appealing, there are plenty of places to ride inside with other people.  There's Watts Up in the West End, Dig Deep Cycling Fitness uptown and The X3 Lab in the east end.   If none of those are convenient, there's always ZWIFT. which is social in it's own way.

Alternatively, you could always hire a coach to help you take the guesswork out of your off season planning and to help you make the improvements you're looking for leading into your next season of racing.

On that note, I do have a couple of openings for coaching as of November 1st so if you're interested head on over to my coaching site and take a look around.  Shoot me a note if you have any questions!

Thanks to all the folks that responded to my IG stories question in regards to posts they'd like to see.  This was the first one and I'll be putting together more over the coming weeks!

Happy Friday!

~ Coach PK

How to get Habitual-Goal Getters 2013

Well here we are, the first full week of the New Year.  I'm sure there are many of you that have made resolutions or set goals for 2013.  The big question is, when life starts to get crazy, will you be able to keep them?   Many resolutions tend to be vague things like, I am going to lose 10 lbs which is immediately followed by a restrictive diet and crazy foray into exercise because that's what you feel you need to do.  After a few weeks, you feel deprived and want just one treat.  That one treat turns into 5 and then you feel guilty. Somewhere along the way working out becomes a chore and you're back on the couch, right where you started.

STOP THE INSANITY!!!  It doesn't have to be that way.  With a little bit of planning and focus you can make your goals a reality.  It's all about getting habitual.

Break it down to Baby Steps

When people make resolutions, they tend to be grandiose in nature, they want to make a complete overhaul of everything.  They don't really think about the change that is actually needed to get to where they want to be.  Once they start to think about it, it usually results in analysis paralysis.  You feel like perhaps you've taken on too much and don't know how to go about getting there so, you end up saying "screw it".   In my experience, I've found that in order to be successful at keeping your resolutions or goals, you need to break it down into smaller steps that you can work at making into habits.  For example:  I want to lose 10 lbs.   How are you going to do that?   Take the time to look at your diet.  Do you drink pop with lunch?  If so, replace it with water.  Make one small change and keep at that change until it becomes a habit.  Once you've got that down, pick something else and keep at that until it becomes a habit.  No, it's not easy.  If it was everyone would do it. Sometimes you need to take baby steps.

Find Something You Love to do and JUST DO IT  

I can't tell you the number of times I've had people tell me that they wished they loved running.   I always ask them why and the response is generally the same:  "It just seems like such an easy thing to do".  This is true, you don't need a membership, you don't really need any fancy gear (I can't believe I'm saying this with a straight face) all you need is a decent pair of running shoes and some comfortable clothing to get started.  I get it.  That was me when I started.  That's why I chose running. From an effort level, it was easy, all I had to do was go out my front door and put one foot in front of the other.  From an intimidation standpoint, it was also easy.  I could go out by myself.  I wasn't worried about walking into a gym full of uber fit people and fumbling my way around the machines and free weights.

It wasn't love at first step when I started running.  My first attempt at running was much like losing my virginity:  awkward with a lot of fumbling around.  And much like "bumping uglies", it takes some practice before you actually start to enjoy it.  I wasn't born the runner that I am now.  Persistence (mixed with a healthy dose of stubbornness) is what made me into the runner I am today.  I guess what I'm saying is that although I didn't love it right away, I liked the appeal of running enough that I wanted to keep at it and that, my friends is the KEY.   To quote my favourite band (Rush) "It takes a little more persistence to get up and go the distance."   Find something that appeals to you enough that you'll keep at it. 

If you always have to force yourself to go to the gym or get to that Body Pump class on a regular basis, chances are you won't stick with it.  Sure there are going to be days where you just don't feel like going.  I have days like that with running.  Funnily enough, those end up being the days that I have some of my best workouts.  It's a fine line between finding something appealing enough that you want to stick with it and forcing yourself to like it because you think it's what you need to do to lose weight, get stronger, or whatever.  Getting fit doesn't need to be complicated, you really just need to get off the couch and get moving.  You need to find *your* thing and do it.  I guarantee that once you love (or at least stop hating) what you're doing, it will just become another thing you do.  Your thing.  Once you find your thing, chances are you'll meet others who also share your passion. 

Buddy Up 

There's nothing like being held accountable by a friend to keep you motivated.   That's why I find group training runs so great.  People are expecting you to be there and when you're not, you always get grilled a little.  At least that's how it goes down in my run group.  Making a regular workout date with someone is a sure fire way to make sure you don't skip your workout.  The friendship and cameraderie are an added bonus.

Sign up for Something

Sometimes this can be the only kick in the pants that you need.  If you've started running, bite the bullet and register for a 5k race.  The reality of an impending event can be a great motivator to get out and train and crossing that finish line will be something that you will always be proud of.  Don't be afraid to let people know your plans either.  You may be surprised at just how many cheerleaders come out of the woodwork to support you.

Speaking of which, if you're looking for a little help and support in achieving your 2013 goals, then I strongly suggest you get on Instagram (if you're not already) and get in on the #GoalGetter2013 action.  The lovely ladies that brought you the December #HolidayADay challenge have gotten together again and put this challenge out there to help people stay accountable to their 2013 goals.
Instead of a month long challenge, they've broken in out to focusing on a goal a month.  So, you pick your goal and take a picture of you working toward your goal and hash tag it with #goalgetter2013progress.  Easy.  And, as an added bonus, these ladies are putting together a monthly newsletter with all sorts of tips & success stories that you can subscribe to.  Genius!

So, if you're looking for a little extra help check out these ladies blogs and follow them on Instagram. 

• Abby from Back at Square Zero (IG: backatsquare0)
• Kat from Sneakers and Fingerpaints (IG: katsnf)
• Kate from Run with Kate (IG: runwithkate)
• Mindy from Mindy’s Fitness Journey (IG: mindyartze)
• Mindy from Road Runner Girl (IG: roadrunnergirl)
• Rebecca from Rebecca Roams (IG: RebeccaRoams)
• Sarah from Mom Running On Empty (IG: momonempty)
•  Gina from Noshing on Asphalt (IG AsphaltNosher)

  I'm up for the challenge, are you?