Under-recovery Vs Over Training

Under-recovery Vs Over Training

When I was at University I went through a period where I was got injured relatively regularly. When I was younger one of the things I put it down to was over training (I was doing 15 - 18 sessions a week), looking back now the bigger contribution, without a doubt ,was that I was under recovering. I was working in a night club, not sleeping well, drinking too much and eating like sh*t. One of the most impactful things someone said to me at the time was this…

'You are trying to train like you are a Ferrari but fuelling yourself like an old Tractor.'

What does that actually mean?

My perception is that the getting to the gym and putting the work is often the easy part. It's also the part that is easier to stay accountable to, especially in a world where you are booking into classes or you are working with a Personal Trainer. The harder parts are everything else that comes around it. The funny thing is, at a fundamental level, it's not that complicated. I would argue that we often make it sound more complicated than it actually is and it ultimately sets people up to fail right from the get go. To be clear, in this sense I'm not talking about the elite athlete but more us everyday athletes.

So what are those key fundamental things?

1. Sleep

Understatedly one of the, if not the most, powerful recovery tool that we have at our disposal. It's no secret that a good nights sleep gives our body the time it needs to rest and recover. No only this but if we don't feel as tired we are more likely to keep to our healthy habits rather than crave a quick and easy sugar boost to help get through the day. Get into a good and consistent bedtime rhythm.

2. Hydration

You will read a huge amount about electrolytes, protein shakes, coffee, pre-workouts, etc, etc. And there is a time and a place for all of those things but please don't forget about water. Personally I always find that when I have a bottle of water on my desk or in easy reach I always drink a bit more. The flip side of this is, especially in shorter workouts, keep your water out of reach, its an easy way to give yourself an excuse for an extended rest!

  3. Nutrition

Probably the area where we complicate things the most and there are so many different diets and pieces of information out there that it's easy to get confused of think it's really complicated. Depending on your goal will depend on what you need but let's keep it simple shall we. Make sure you get in the habit of making sure that you have a good amount of protein in every meal, limit processed foods and processed sugars and try an eat 5 portions of whole fruit and vegetables a day. (I'm actually about to do my L4 nutrition course so I'm hoping to be able to offer qualified advice on this in the near future).

Do these fundamentals well and it will put you ahead of a lot of the pack. In your own gym, where you are doing the same programme as a lot of the other people, these basics, done extremely well, have the ability to propel you up the leader board and make every session count more for you than they do for others.

Andy