Six-time Ironman World Champion Mark Allen states in one of
his 2007 training articles, "The people who have the best races in August through October are those who are storing up in December."
These are words of wisdom from one of the endurance sport masters of our time. They remind us to respect the major fitness principle of balancing between stress and rest. Spoken with significant experience and maturity, that simple statement advises us to relax a bit now — so we can bring the ruckus later.
For the majority of endurance athletes, the winter months are the off-season, due to the season’s darkness and inhospitable weather. These barriers to training can be a stress when accompanied with common winter anxieties, like losing fitness or gaining weight. In reality, these low-activity months can bring you closer to your long-term fitness potential, as Mark Allen reminds us. Positively approaching these months may only take a change in perception.
Opportunity knocks
Think of the winter as an opportunity for new things. Sure,
you may wish that your outdoor training could go on uninterrupted, but that is out of your control. And just as the sages through the ages tell us, we should only direct our precious energy on that which we can control: This means we need to optimize our forced time off of the roads and trails.
Classic winter fitness advice includes keeping active with less intense indoor pursuits. Structured classes like yoga, Pilates, tai chi,
kickboxing, or dance classes are delightful when the weather outside is
frightful. It’s not easy to jump into unfamiliar activities, so this could be an opportunity to challenge yourself a bit. A less intimidating option could be to give extra attention to your routine indoor activities, such as swimming or weight training.
Transitioning your outdoor cycling/running to an indoor trainer/treadmill is a good way to maintain off-season fitness. They don’t offer the same mental/physical rest — advantages which come with taking time away from your in-season sports — but they are reasonable cold-weather options.
Unless you are facing an imminent early-season competition, keeping your indoor bike/run volume to a minimum will help guard against going stale during your following training year. Remember Mark Allen’s quote.
Eager snowbound athletes may consider cross country/skate skiing as a way to keep their fitness level high all winter. Cyclocross is another heart-pounding choice for the late fall/early winter period. Such
activities may be excellent new frontiers for those looking to change up their sport routines and have some fun. These sports in particular are longstanding off-season traditions for many highly committed endurance athletes worldwide.
Another option, and one I have employed many times, is simply not to fill the training vacuum with anything else and just enjoy the downtime. As our lifestyles become harder to fit into that inflexible 24 hours,
some quality downtime can be a tonic. Taking this time to relax could be the breathing room you need — it can benefit your entire life, not just your athleticism. How often are we given the prospect of
more free time? It’s really hard for me to turn that down.
Slowing down gives you extra time that can be spent in non-athletic
pursuits, such as playing a musical instrument, taking a cooking class, or whatever else you desire. Perhaps spending more time with family and friends is what you want to do, since they probably see much less of you when the sun is out! Give careful consideration to what you do with this valuable time. Years of experience have convinced me that success in sport has a great deal to do with what happens in the time we are
not training. Perspective, balance, and confidence are potent additions to an athlete’s arsenal during the training season — especially when competing.
Not so fast
Is the thought of taking it easier in the winter raising your blood pressure? The anxiety around possible weight and fitness side effects from down-shifting your activity cannot be ignored.
Is the fear of weight gain making you hesitate? If it is, be sure to accurately assess how significant that weight gain might be, and adjust
your dietary intake appropriately. We all can relate to the fear that the
calorie-rich winter holidays add several automatic pounds to our frame. Interestingly, the facts don’t support this: In 2000, the New England Journal of Medicine concluded through a prospective study that the average winter weight gain was about a single pound in 195 American adults. Factor this in when assessing your situation.
With a smaller training load, the wisest approach to avoid weight gain is to reduce the quantity of food you consume. Consult a registered
dietitian, use POWERCOACH™, or just make an educated guess to determine your caloric adjustment. Consider smaller meals and/or reducing the number of snacks you have.
Finally, is it really such a disaster if you gain a little off-season weight? As an athlete, is that weight likely to stick around once you
start training again? Chances are, your athletic lifestyle will ensure that any modest weight gain isn’t permanent.
"I’m getting slow!"
I’ve heard people say “I need to train for my race in April!” as a justification for winter road bike rides in the freezing rain (and I’ve said it myself, as well!) More miles mean more fitness, right? Not necessarily. It is a dated misconception that ultra-fitness is a result of training the
most and the hardest. The highest levels of fitness are actually found by those, like Mark Allen, who train the
smartest and the hardest, and that includes deliberately taking
time off. Mark understands stress and rest.
Just as we train using hard/easy days, hard/easy seasons are also valid training principles. Serious training without serious rest puts your
performance, health, and enjoyment of your sport at risk. Training for an event on top of a demanding job, personal responsibilities, and stress from a fast-paced life takes a significant toll. The dark winter months are the natural time for you to ease up on yourself.
A balanced view
When viewed objectively, fears of significant weight or fitness losses have little factual support. Slowing down can actually bring needed recovery and balance that will heighten your athletic potential overall. Widen your scope to incorporate the entire year and/or years ahead when approaching the off-season. Decide what purpose you want the cold months to serve, and flow with that. Athletes that incorporate balance into their lives recognize that their month-to-month and year-to-year
lifestyle completely overshadows any fitness/weight changes occurring during the winter off-season.
Yanovski, J.A., et al. 2000. A prospective study of holiday weight gain. New England Journal of Medicine (12) 324:861–867.
Mark Allen’s Off Season Tips, 11-16-2007 http://www.xtri.com/coaches_display.aspx?riIDReport=4363&CAT=10&xref=xx
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General, Post-Workout, Stamina
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