The festive season can offer challenges in terms of maintaining our training load. How do we optimise training without increasing risk of injury and illness during these times?
The festive season is a time enjoy time off, reconnecting with friends and family. It may involve travel, time off work, parties, differences in foods and beverages consumed, sleep pattern changes etc. So in relation to these potential changes, do you have a plan in place in terms of your training load management?
Reduced training load.
Many of us may reduce our training load whilst we enjoy and get stuck into the festive season. So the question is, how to we return to full training after the break in the most optimal way to avoid sickness and injury?
Have a plan to manage your training load
The Picture below is an oldy but a goody. It helps to show the estimated time to return to full training load following a two or four-week break in training to reduce the risk of injury. Whilst this may not be specific for everyone, it can still provide us with a handy estimation and plan moving forwards. For example (depicted below with the arrow and red line), if for two weeks you were training at roughly 40% of usual, it will take you just under 3 weeks to ramp your training back to where it was before the break to mitigate the risk of illness and injury
NB: We must not forget other important factors that effect our wellbeing such as inadequate quality sleep, alcohol intake, nutrition, stress etc
Enjoy the festive season, be smart around your training, and if there is anything you are unsure of you can reach out to our team!
Reference:
Purdam, C., Drew, M. K., Blanch, P. D., Champman, D., Gabbett, T. J., Gore, C., … & Raysmith, B. (2015). Prescription of training load in relation to loading and unloading phases of training. Bruce, Australia: Australian Sports Commission.
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