How do you modify your workouts when life is sucking all your energy?
Typically, my training is the way I sustain myself and the energy balance is strongly positive. There are times, however, where there are inescapable events/conflicts/illnesses etc that confound our best laid plans. Times when as I get through a day the floor behind me seems finely polished from my glutes dragging across it. It seems to me fruitless in these stretches to try to maintain the intensity or quality of my training. And as I "mature", it seems recovery times are longer from either life's bodyblows or from a hard workout.
Often its a victory just to get to the pool and get wet. My response of course depends on where I am in a competition cycle. Fortunately, I'm in a flexible phase right now as I'm going to miss both long course nats and the open water season. Today, I decided to do some longer sets and completely ignored the pace clock. I focused on my stroke, and my turns, and intuitively gauged my effort level as my workout progressed. I'm happy to say that after a few 500's the expected endorphin surge was felt, and I was able to finish with some harder 300's- again without a pace clock.
What strategies are you using both in and out of the pool to endure the inevitable energy vortexes?
Hi Tom,
When I have no energy, I try to pick one thing and do it really well through practice, no matter how much my times suck. My favorite thing is streamlines. Even if you are completely out of energy and your stroke feels like crap, you can still think about holding a nice tight streamline out of each wall. I'll also work on DPS, 2 or 3 dolphins off each wall, bilateral breathing patterns, etc etc. Not all in the same practice, but I'll pick one. The common thread through all these options is that they involve focus and discipline much more than energy or speed. So if I'm coming in 10 sec off my usual 100 pace for that effort level, but I've managed a rock-solid streamline and 3 dolphins off each wall, then I've got something happy to think about re: my swim.
The things that I try to not worry about when in an energy vortex are my times, sprinting, even- or negative- splitting distance swims, etc...
Good luck and hope your energy perks up soon!
Hi Tom,
When I have no energy, I try to pick one thing and do it really well through practice, no matter how much my times suck. My favorite thing is streamlines. Even if you are completely out of energy and your stroke feels like crap, you can still think about holding a nice tight streamline out of each wall. I'll also work on DPS, 2 or 3 dolphins off each wall, bilateral breathing patterns, etc etc. Not all in the same practice, but I'll pick one. The common thread through all these options is that they involve focus and discipline much more than energy or speed. So if I'm coming in 10 sec off my usual 100 pace for that effort level, but I've managed a rock-solid streamline and 3 dolphins off each wall, then I've got something happy to think about re: my swim.
The things that I try to not worry about when in an energy vortex are my times, sprinting, even- or negative- splitting distance swims, etc...
Good luck and hope your energy perks up soon!
