|
Happy Monday! As you enter into this week you’ll notice that your training plan has taken a step back in time and intensity. That is because we have entered a “rest” week: A week designed to still build on your fitness while allowing time for your body to recover from the training stress it has accrued over the past three weeks. You’ll notice this trend throughout our 12-week training cycle every four weeks. Some of the reasons we incorporate both rest weeks and “easy days” on your training schedules are to: Decrease the chance for injury/illness Get the most out of future workouts The recovery period(s) is what allows physiological gains to be realized Reduce the chance for overtraining
During your recovery week, it’s also a great time to do a self-assessment and check in to make sure you are getting enough sleep every day. Many physiological changes take place during sleep, such as glucose and blood pressure changes. There are also hormonal changes that according to may play a large role in a muscle’s ability to recover and get stronger . Sleep deprivation leads to an increase in cortisol and a reduction in human growth hormone – of which 95% is released during sleep . As a result, protein synthesis, which is required for rebuilding damaged muscles, is greatly reduced, as is glycogen replenishment, which is your stored energy for future workouts. A study by O’Donnell et al., noted that among athletes, those that averaged less than 8 hours per night were 1.7 times more likely to get injured than those that slept 8 or more hours (839). Primary contributing factors are reduced reaction times and cognitive function, as well as reduced capacity for bone and tissue repair. Therefore, getting enough sleep (ideally 8 or more hours) is important not just from a recovery standpoint, but also to reduce the chance of getting injured. I’ll be shooting you an email this week just to check in on how training is going and if you have any questions. We’re also working to get your next Zoom call set-up with Jenna Kokes, Physical Therapist and owner of Winthrop Physical Fitness. One we get those dates and times firmed up, we’ll let you know. Feel free to direct message via Slack or shoot me an email at Steph@Cascadeendurance.com Happy running! Steph
|
