Hi Gang,
I'm in my mid-fifties and find I am tired for two days following a hard Sunday workout. It's been sometime since I've pushed myself physically like this so I'm not used to needed a decent amount of recovery time.
When I say I am tired what I mean is I feel that my eyes are heavy and I'm not up for doing exercise for 2 days after my workout. I've been back at swimming for about 3 months and currently push myself at least 1x per week under a coach. This equals about 3000 yards.
Any thoughts and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
The general rule of thumb is not to increase your workouts more than 10% a week, That is very conservative for most people who work out, but for a 50+ person, starting a new sport, it's about right.
At 66, after being sidelined with shoulder problems for a few years, it took me 9 months to work back up to 3000 yard easy workouts. And I bike for transportation in a very hilly area, so my old carcass was at least used to putting out.
Be aware that the difference in health and well-being between sedentary and three short, light workouts a week is WAY larger than the difference between that lite regimen and olympian stuff.
Overdoing it can harm you in many ways -maybe even end your athletic career, Taking it easy will test your patience and pride - but that's good practice for being the geezer you hope to be in 20 years.
Just bringing up another point, how well do you sleep? Sleep is key for recovery. I know that when I'm sleep deprived (children waking me up a lot during the night for example) I'm not recovering and feel a tiredness similar to what you describe.
Maybe try to a little more sleep before and after a hard workout.
Be aware that the difference in health and well-being between sedentary and three short, light workouts a week is WAY larger than the difference between that lite regimen and olympian stuff.
Thanks Mick. Your comment was very helpful - particularly what you said above. Also, knowing what kind of shape I want to be in 20 years from now is helpful in designing workouts.
Amit, thank you. I do get plenty of sleep. I'm thinking now of taking a nap in the afternoon on weekends after a tough workout. Maybe that will help too.
