WSJ Article Why Trainers Say, 'Slow Down'
You win this round Wall Street Journal....
I can actually say this stuff is legit... I'm starting to realize and relish in the fact that I need to rest a lot more. I just have to make sure my "rest time" is filled with "restful" activities. Not a 30 mile bike ride, not 2 hours of basketball...
Real interesting line from the article...
"One red flag, sports-medicine specialists say, is an intensifying obsession with performance."
In swimming, would we define "performance" as faster times? Or would we broaden the definition to include efficiency of stroke?
Makes one think...
Another good point was the reference for the need for cross-training to reduce repetitive action injuries.
resting is not the answer, the answer is to build up the training slow enough so your body can adapt and doesn't have "over-use injury "
I hate to say it, but I wholeheartedly disagree with your statement. Rest is integral to an intelligently designed training program. As we age, we'll need to rest more so our bodies can recover.
As you workout, you breakdown your muscles on a cellular level. During rest, those same muscles begin to rebuild themselves. In young children, this happens so fast many can go for weeks and months without rest before it "catches up to them". After a certain age (training dependent), that need to rest comes with smaller workout periods in between. (Rest in this case being a time period greater than or equal to 24 hours between workouts)
That being said I agree with you and am certain you can extend your workout period by slowly stretching your training program. I feel that it will be a diminishing return as a function of age though.
resting is not the answer, the answer is to build up the training slow enough so your body can adapt and doesn't have "over-use injury "
And it really depends on the sport, practising to run ultramarathon is not the same as practicing for swimming a 50
Real interesting line from the article...
"One red flag, sports-medicine specialists say, is an intensifying obsession with performance."
In swimming, would we define "performance" as faster times? Or would we broaden the definition to include efficiency of stroke?
Makes one think...
Another good point was the reference for the need for cross-training to reduce repetitive action injuries.
I do like your idea of altering (rather than "broadening") the definition of performance to one of efficiency. My perspective is that speed in itself is not necessarily a sign of "performance". Its analogous to a vehicle that may go 140 MPH but take 15 minutes down hill with the wind at its back to get there and consume 40 gallons of gas on the way as opposed to another vehicle which can also go 140 but do it in 10 seconds and still get roughly 30 MPG (unrealistic I think, but bear with me).
That being said... I should probably change up my training to work on efficiency of stroke rather than speed.... Hehehe - the clock counts all the time, whilst I forget to count my strokes!
You should put this on a tee-shirt! :applaud:
My coach would probably kick my back end for that one. She's already going crazy since I'm trying to get all the guys on my team into Tuxedo Briefs and Tuxedo T-Shirts for our Sink Or Swim Classic meet :rofl:
yes, that was just shameless self promotion right there
