Why Do We Need Off-Season Training?
For any athlete, competitor, race, or season there is always an end-point. Quite simply (in my eyes) if you want to become better at what you do, both physically and mentally, off-season is a must for personal growth. Summertime especially is a popular off-season for many athletes. This may not always amount to the same span of time or involve the same activities or lack of. Each individual and circumstance requires its own recovery process. But to make sure someone does not overtrain or exhaust themselves, it is also necessary. Off-season can be used as a lense into seeing what needs improving, how to build on potential, and a time to remove yourself from the exhaustion of the competitive nature and critique.
For any athlete, competitor, race, or season there is always an end-point. Quite simply (in my eyes) if you want to become better at what you do, both physically and mentally, off-season is a must for personal growth. Summertime especially is a popular off-season for many athletes. This may not always amount to the same span of time or involve the same activities or lack of. Each individual and circumstance requires its own recovery process. But to make sure someone does not overtrain or exhaust themselves, it is also necessary. Off-season can be used as a lense into seeing what needs improving, how to build on potential, and a time to remove yourself from the exhaustion of the competitive nature and critique.
Consider also the last time an athlete in season rested a whole week or two (not due to injury). Consider the last time you got a full 8 hours of sleep for a week straight. Or spent a day in which you made sure to stretch every other hour. My point is off-season allows you to engage in habits or actions you may not normally think to take or have the time to. Stopping the go, go, go mentality and slowing your routine down is a key element. You allow your body to rest, heal, move through different movements, and then dive right back into action. You can still do all of that and keep up your training. Your program should not reduce in its intensity or intentions. There is no reason to deload during this time. Yes rest, but do not stop working. The program you follow should be challenging and working you towards improvement.
Bottom line - Maintaining a strong work ethic during this time will lead to a more successful year to come. Building on your potential in off-season is vital in preparing your body and making sure it is healthy, strong, and ready. All parts of your body need to be able to work together to properly work and execute what you are working towards. Create a competition with yourself so you can be the last one standing at whatever your finish line looks like. So it’s time to ask yourself: Are you doing everything possible to be at your best performance?
