Here is our monthly S&C article by our resident Guru Mal. Enjoy!
I had something completely different to write up for this
article (well, in my head at least) – but over the last couple of weeks I have
had messages and emails that have all pretty much been on the same issue –
Christmas! Unfortunately, none of them
were asking me what I wanted for Christmas (now there is a surprise) but rather
how they cope with Christmas interfering with their training.
At this point I can feel the readership splitting, with one
half saying ‘Seriously’; with the other half saying ‘Yeah, makes sense’.
Now, when I write an annual plan for an athlete I always
plot in their holidays and breaks so that I know what I need to do to work
around them. The majority of people I
work with never have any competitions or events during the Christmas break, so as
long as they don’t have something booked in around this period - I don’t
schedule any training in, which for some could be about two weeks off
(obviously if they do have a match or competition, then the story changes).
I can hear the gasps of horror already while some people are
reading this – ‘What…no training for two weeks!!’. (I know, I should be struck off for making
such outlandish statements) Guess what – that is exactly what a lot of the
athletes say too!
Every year…same thing.
Even though they have seen the plan; even though they know what they are
working towards and when they need to peak (which I will cover in a future
article) some of them still freak out at NOT training (although I suspect it also
has something to do with not having an excuse to escape the in-laws). Now, whilst I may not plan anything in, a lot
of people do fit in training sessions during Christmas and that’s fine, if it
is what they want to do. The important
thing is that they reign back on the volume and intensity and have a
BREAK. There, I said it! If you are
training consistently – if you have a plan – if you have set goals about what
you are aiming for – then take the break.
Nick Grantham (a really top level S&C Coach, you should check out
his blog) once explained it very simply.
Think of your training like a bank account. Every training session is a deposit into that
account. Throughout the year you are
paying in, paying in, paying in. Every
now and again, you can make a withdrawal – you take something back. This is your break. Think of it like a planned cheat meal in your
nutritional plan.
The summer holiday in Ibiza; withdrawal. The weekend at the races with your mates;
withdrawl. Even taking a break due to injury
is a withdrawal from your account. I had
major surgery on my shoulder last year.
It took months before I could train again. It is a terrible feeling being in a gym
training other people when you can’t do anything. When I did start training
again, it didn’t take long before I made progress to get back to where I
(almost) was. I have been paying into my
account for years and because of that, I didn’t fall into the RED.
So as long as you are consistent, making regular payments
into your account – every now and again you can take something back and not
have to pack your backs from the resulting guilt trip. You are not going to lose your ‘GAINZ’. You not suddenly going to develop lungs like
small party balloons and that fine chiselled physique is not going suddenly
look like Christian Bale in the Machinist.
The other side of this is of course is that you can’t take
out more than you have put in. I do know
people that are not consistent in their training or nutrition and are
constantly ‘overdrawn’. A very small
percentage of people can perform for a period of time based on good genetics;
but in the long game – a poor lifestyle will crush great genetics every
time.
For the rest of you hard working,
dedicated people – take something back and have a really good Christmas and
look forward to a great New Year.
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