Coming Back From Lay Off – For Triathletes

We may think that we’ll be consistent for ever but life gets in the way. Illness, a freak injury, a heavy workload or a major life event can disrupt a training routine and interfere with the best-made plans. At some time you will have to come back from lay off.

All (fitness) is not lost

More often than not, except in very long lay offs, less fitness is lost than you might think. You feel fat, out of shape and very uncoordinated, but fear not that all is by any means lost. Most importantly, you must remember where you are when you start the comeback trail. Try to forget the sessions you performed during the good times; they will come back, but leave such distances and efforts for a few weeks yet. Start small and you will build back in the time that your body allows you – too much too soon and you’ll only go backwards.

Start small

There is no absolute, but start small, possibly along the lines of the beginners’ programme. When all goes well for a week, move a step up the progression ladder. If this means that it takes two to four weeks to be back on schedule, so be it. You cannot make up for lost time or beat the system. If you have been stopped by lack of time, work or a family situation, it is less likely that you need to worry about your health compared to those people recovering from illness or an injury. In all instances, listen to your body, be patient and try not to make up for lost time or catch up with lost sessions.

How to use the schedules

At the very least, you need a plan to give you an idea of how to train and what proportions to train in each sport. Good technique and endurance are your priority before building more speed and competence. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

Seasons

In most of the northern hemisphere, triathlons are held from April until early October. Most triathletes compete from May to September, so after a seasonal chill out of two to four weeks the winter training starts in October or November. This structure gives a logic to your yearly schedule. In the winter, you can build your endurance (‘base’) and technique. This is followed by spring progressive training which blends into early races and season-specific sessions. Some training is clearly not about goals but getting out of the house, burning off stress and seeing your friends. However, most sessions allow you to get better because they are targeted at a specific triathlon weakness.

Build and recover

Most plans suggest sessions, but you decide if you have recovered from your previous training or need to reduce or delay training for a day or so. To progress, you must build sessions that overload you more than before, although eventually you’ll have to recover. Don’t do several long or hard sessions back to back. Similarly, each fourth week reduce the quantity and frequency of your training. Don’t try to do more; it’s time to recover and just catch up on your work commitments, chores and the like while you have some extra spare time.

Did you know

Studies suggest that total bed rest has effects after two to four weeks. Other data shows that dramatically reducing training starts to reduce fitness after four to six weeks. So do what little you can and you will cling onto most of the fitness you’ve built up.