Navigating the "off season" (or transition season) can be challenging. Too much rest and you lose a lot of fitness. Too little rest and you set yourself up for injury, mental burn out, or excessive fatigue. For many, the idea of taking a break also gives us that restless “what will I do with myself” anxiousness.
But the off season can bring tremendous gains. It’s good to take a breather, step back, and assess what your goals are for the upcoming season, all while giving your body and mind a break from rigorous training. Utilizing the off season to explore different training techniques, different activities, a more intensive focus on weaker areas, can reap tremendous benefits during your next race season.
“Champions are made in the off season” - Football Coach Steve Szabo.
Losing some level of fitness during the off season expands your capacity to improve, because the body needs to recover from the stress it has undergone throughout the season. Training is stress that we put on our bodies to develop adaptability and performance. Using a transition season (recovery), we create the ability to positively adapt to larger or more intense training loads.
So, what are some tips for using the off season to improve performance?
Take a Break.
Taking a break doesn’t mean “do nothing.” It means take a break from the structure by doing something fun, doing something different, or doing something you wanted to try but couldn’t fit in your schedule during heavier loads of training. Give yourself a time-out from the stresses of race preparation, bike maintenance, running form, and fatigue management—all things that contribute to the mental and physical stresses of training.
After a controlled “break”, consider the following ideas to manage your transition/off-season.
Assess Your Performance
Take a more in-depth look at your season and your performance metrics to identify opportunity areas that you can dig into during the off-season. Zero in on specific areas that will create opportunities for large gains.
Make Plans and Set Goals for Race Season
Using your goals, determine which races to do. It seems simple, but there is a strategy to planning the season to maximize performance. Scheduling or stacking too many races can deter your overall goals for your season. When deciding on races that will play to your strengths, consider factors like the course, the weather conditions, time of year, family activities, and cost.
Cross Train and Strength Train.
Cross training can help alleviate possible overuse injuries, as well as provide a mental break from the primary swim/bike/run disciplines. Cross training allows you develop muscles and fitness in secondary areas while also improving cardiovascular fitness.
Strength training, which is often overlooked during the race season, provides potential gains for improved performance (economies) and injury prevention by improving bone density. Strength training also promotes fat loss.
Improve Nutrition
Transition season is a perfect opportunity to make positive changes to your diet. Positive changes may include eating more fruits and vegetables, adding whole grains, limiting the amount of packaged and processed food, or eating on an appropriate schedule. This is the time of year to look at caloric intake. Caloric intake is one of those sensitive subjects that deserves attention, not obsession. During peak training/racing, it is critical to fuel the work. The transition season, however, provides an opportunity to lower the calories and drop a few pounds, if desired.
Spend Time with Family
The unsung heroes of our sport are our families. Use the reduction in volume to do some things for and with the people who support you throughout your season. Reconnect. Show your appreciation. Be present.
As your season winds down, consider these tips for off-season training. Decide what you want to do with all this time on your hands and make it work to your benefit!
The off-season is a perfect time to rest, reflect, and refocus on future goals while exploring new training techniques or addressing weaker areas. Much like balancing rest and progress in fitness, reading take online class help USA reviews ensures you find reliable support for academic success. Both approaches set you up for better performance in the long run.