B
y Sharlyne Rivera
Aug. 29, 2007 -- Could a great off season be the catalyst to setting yourself up for a successful following season? The downtime between training seasons, referred to as the transition period, can be a very critical element for achieving those “out of reach” goals. Admittedly, every athlete has a minimum standard they are content with, whether it is a 45-minute 10k or a 60-minute 2.4 mile swim. Your minimum standard is better referred to as your “comfort zone.” When your minimum standards are achieved, you may passively accept them as being good enough and entertain excuses of why next time will be better.
You’re cheating yourself if you train eight to 10 months in your “comfort zone” and continually pattern your body to produce the same racing splits year after year. Your season comes to an end and then what happens? You take some well-earned time off and train once again to compete at the exact same level. Your training cycles do not have to be this way. Let this year’s off-season be your spring board to bigger and better things, not a time to play catch up.
Primarily, downtime should give way to mental rejuvenation while minimizing the loss of training-induced physiological adaptations gained during the season. An off-season with no direction usually means too much time off, more trips to the buffet table than the gym and assurance that you will be right back where you were last year. The hard earned training-induced adaptations achieved can start slipping away and detraining can set in with as little as two weeks, according to research.
Effects that are noticed following complete cessation from training are:-4 to 20% decline in maximum aerobic capacity (VO2max).
-25 % drop in ability to sustain sub-maximal exercise.
-5 to 12 % reduction in blood volume.
-Decreased workload at the point where lactic acid accumulates abruptly (lactate threshold).
-Diminished muscle glycogen levels, or the body’s storage capacity for carbohydrates.
-Less aerobic enzyme activity which means mitochondrial content is reduced.
-Heart rate increases at any given workload with detraining.
Detraining reflects the fact that if a training stimulus is insufficient, or removed entirely, the gains achieved through regular training can be totally lost within one to two months. The good news that may help you enjoy a few guilt-free days off is that the detraining process is fully reversible and can be completely avoided. The ability to sustain exercise adaptations corresponds to the degree of physical activity being carried out. Increased frequency, intensity and duration can increase aerobic fitness variables. Unfortunately, a restriction in just one of these training elements resulting from injury, illness or schedule conflict, results in detraining, causing a decrease in progress and performance.
Pointers for creating an off-season that really makes a difference:
-Reduce training frequency no more than 20-30%. For example, if you currently train six to seven days per week, do not drop below four days per week.
-Intensity should be maintained or reduced by no more than 10%.
-Duration of time spent training can safely drop 70-80% as long as frequency and intensity are maintained as mentioned above. For many it can be very challenging and even impractical to sustain in-season levels of intensity therefore making it important to have less of a fall in training volumes.
Training with the purpose of improvement takes a 12-month commitment. The off-season can predict your future. Remember to take care of your aches and pains that hindered you during the in-season, plan your training schedule with a vengeance, work on your limitations, incorporate other activities, play a team sport, cross train, strength train, functional train and develop better skills and techniques. Whatever you do in the off season, figure out a way to use it to your advantage.
Article by Sharlyne Rivera, M.A., H.F.I.
Sharlyne is an exercise physiologist at the National Training Center and conducts sports science testing. Her specialty in the NTC Sports Performance Department is running and she is creator and coach for the NTC Run & Race Training Program. She can be reached at (352) 241-7144, ext. 4293 or Sharlyne.rivera@orhs.org.
References: Coyle, E.F., Hemmert, M.K., & Coggan, A.R. (1986). Effects of detraining on cardiovascular responses to exercise: role of blood volume. Journal of Applied Physiology, 60: 95-99.Madsen, K., Pedersen, P.K., Djurhuus, M.S., & Klitgaard, N.A. (1993). Effects of detraining on endurance capacity and metabolic changes during prolonged exhaustive exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 75: 1444-1451.Coyle, E.F., Martin, W.H., Sinacore, D.R., Joyner, M.J., Hagberg, J.M., & Holloszy, J.O. (1984). Time course of loss of adaptations after stopping prolonged intense endurance training. Journal of Applied Physiology, 57(6): 1857-1864.Mujika, I, & Padilla, S. (2001). Muscular characteristics of detraining in humans. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 33(8): 1297-1303.