I wanted to ask a question - just out of curiosity.
I had a too strenuous training regime a couple of weeks ago and I ended up a bit overtrained. I suffered then from chronic exhaustion and my results became much poorer. All improvement that I had made during the past three months was gone. I started to swim 50m fc at terrifying time of 41-43 secs, though I had already been able to do the same in 38 secs for 50m (not great, I know, but my swimming career is yet rather short).
I decided to have a rest. I was going to the pool only two - three times a week, decreased the volume to 1500-2000 and abandoned any demanding tasks. Just leisure swimming - technique and turns.
After about 10-12 days I was feeling great. No sign of exhaustion. In fact the fatigue disappeared already after about three days of rest.
But then, whenever I tried to experiment with speed and swim one or two 50s or 100s I found my results still as poor as at the time when my exhaustion reached its peak. I could not understand why my body does not want to stand a heavier effort even though my subjective symptoms of overtraining (i.e. fatigue etc) are no longer felt.
Now I am back in form - even did my pb at 50m :) (probably because I focussed so much on technique during the past three weeks).
Still I am very curious why it was so hard to me to swim faster, even though I did not feel any chronic exhaustion any longer? Is it possible that the effects of the overtraining last still longer than you subjectively experience them?
Not having been there, I suspect what you experienced was simply detraining. That while you needed the rest to lower your fatigue level, the time off also lowered your fitness level.
Then once you got back in, within a couple of weeks your fitness came back and you were good to go.
Every workout induces both fatigue and fitness. These effects fade over the course of a few days. Luckily for us, the fatigure fades more quickly than the fitness. So with a few days off, your fatigue fades quickly and most of your fitness stays. But you DO lose SOME fitness during the break.
I stay on top of these things using the same sort of performance modeling that a Dr. Bannister set forth years ago. A bit complicated but successful in tracking fatigue and fitness on an ongoing basis and nailing tapers also.
Without it, you go by feel. Go until you start to feel al little ov erdone and back off for a few days then hit it again. Lots of people plan these weeks in. One out of every 4 weeks is a recovery week where you drop the volume and intensityof the training you are doing.
Not having been there, I suspect what you experienced was simply detraining. That while you needed the rest to lower your fatigue level, the time off also lowered your fitness level.
Then once you got back in, within a couple of weeks your fitness came back and you were good to go.
Every workout induces both fatigue and fitness. These effects fade over the course of a few days. Luckily for us, the fatigure fades more quickly than the fitness. So with a few days off, your fatigue fades quickly and most of your fitness stays. But you DO lose SOME fitness during the break.
I stay on top of these things using the same sort of performance modeling that a Dr. Bannister set forth years ago. A bit complicated but successful in tracking fatigue and fitness on an ongoing basis and nailing tapers also.
Without it, you go by feel. Go until you start to feel al little ov erdone and back off for a few days then hit it again. Lots of people plan these weeks in. One out of every 4 weeks is a recovery week where you drop the volume and intensityof the training you are doing.
