What is the “Off-Season” all about? Many will say not training, not racing, really not doing anything. Others will say not racing, but still training. Some say training big hours at low intensities while others are off to the gym lifting weights. It seems that the possibilities are endless for the “Off-Season,” so the right approach can be awfully hard to formulate on your own.
Following several months of hard racing and training during the Competitive Season it is important to allow the body a chance to rest up physically while getting away from the mental stresses of the season. By this time of the year chances are that you’re feeling worn out and need a time to recharge. Taking some time away from the demands of training is the first step. You don’t have to stop exercising altogether, rather get out there and do whatever might be different or refreshing instead. If this means more mountain biking, excellent, or maybe you like to tear around on the singlespeed, so be it. Spend time doing something active, but don’t concern yourself about the specifics of it too much.
Eventually you’ll start thinking about next year and the approach you can take to improve upon what you’ve done in past seasons. You’ll plot out the races you intend to do and think about how you will refine the training and preparation. Perhaps this is where you are right now, as December is when many of us start preparations for the coming season. Choosing to work with a coach is an excellent way to speed up your natural learning curve. As a coach it is my job to help educate you about how your body best responds to various training methods. It is with this information that you’ll improve at the rate of your full potential – with little or no training time spent doing fruitless tasks.
It is my approach to first address the athlete as an individual when beginning Off-Season training. The experience of the athlete needs to be considered along with personal strength or weaknesses. Any injuries or imbalances should be addressed before delving back into the same old training habits. It is important that the whole athlete be considered before training plans are constructed. Some athletes might benefit from strength training while others might be better off to focus their time and energy elsewhere. If your schedule is such that you can’t train more than a couple hours on weekdays, then perhaps the low-intensity base building regime won’t work quite as it’s intended to. Every athlete carries different goals, experiences, and life constraints, each of which factors into what the optimal off-season might look like. Determining how all of these components best fit together should be your primary goal of the Off Season.
The Off-Season is a time that you are able to step away from what you have always done, evaluate it, get an expert’s opinion on it, tweak it, plot changes, and finally go for it in new, perhaps more effective manner. Don’t let a wasted Off-Season keep you from achieving your goals; rather put your time and energy to use and make the most of the opportunities you have at hand. Your next Competitive Season will be all the proof you need to show that your Off-Season was well spent.