There has been some discussion lately about the necessity of recovery during training. So how much and what recovery do we need? How do we fit in all our training, cross-training, weights, etc. and still have time for recovery? What can we do to recover faster? How much recovery is needed prior to taper? How do you balance training hard and training and recovery?
It sucks getting old. I'm sore as hell. :toohurt:
For what it's worth…
When I was lifting to get bigger and stronger, I found my best gains were made when I lifted one day, took two days off, lifted the next day, took another two days off, and so on. My workouts were broken down like so: Back, shoulders, chest, legs, arms. So…I'd have approx. 15 days of rest for each body part. Granted, it wasn't total rest because the triceps would receive stimulus on chest and shoulder days, etc., but this allowed me to train with great intensity and I could gain muscle and keep it. I'd hit a plateau maybe 3 or 4 times a year and was able to squat 500lbs and bench 365lbs. at a bodyweight of 195.
I'm guessing swimming is a bit different as even in sprints there's more aerobic issues involved. Long story short, when you train with intensity, and feel sluggish and tired when you go to swim, take a break, work on technique and give yourself time to recover.
And oh yeah, eat :banana:
For what it's worth…
When I was lifting to get bigger and stronger, I found my best gains were made when I lifted one day, took two days off, lifted the next day, took another two days off, and so on. My workouts were broken down like so: Back, shoulders, chest, legs, arms. So…I'd have approx. 15 days of rest for each body part. Granted, it wasn't total rest because the triceps would receive stimulus on chest and shoulder days, etc., but this allowed me to train with great intensity and I could gain muscle and keep it. I'd hit a plateau maybe 3 or 4 times a year and was able to squat 500lbs and bench 365lbs. at a bodyweight of 195.
I'm guessing swimming is a bit different as even in sprints there's more aerobic issues involved. Long story short, when you train with intensity, and feel sluggish and tired when you go to swim, take a break, work on technique and give yourself time to recover.
And oh yeah, eat :banana:
