As I mentioned in the previous post, yesterday (Thurs) became a recovery day for me because I kinda overdid it on Wednesday with a hard run in the morning followed by a really hard bike and run brick workout in the afternoon. I was wiped out following the workout, and tired and sore all day yesterday, and am still tired and a little sore this morning (Friday) and have already skipped another workout.
This means that my hard workouts on Wednesday required at least 36 hours of recovery if not more (I’m still playing it by ear). A recovery of that long means that I’m skipping some important training — which is fine for now, but I can’t make that a regular thing or my training volume will be greatly reduced.
So, reflecting back on my workouts, I realized that I have to hold back my intensity if I want to continue to train almost every day. This is something I’ve read about before, of course, but it’s also something you tend to forget in the middle of a workout when you’re feeling good and want to push yourself.
This has been a good lesson, I think. For my regular training days (non-race days), I need to hold back the intensity. I can’t go all-out if I want to train the next day or even the day after that.
So, for those of you following along at home, take heed: training intensity should be somewhere between easy and medium-hard, but never very hard, or you’ll mess up your training schedule — either that, or you’ll continue your training schedule while tired and risk injury or burnout. And remember to alternate hard days with easy or rest days to ensure that you’re recovering properly from workouts. I might even redo my schedule because I’m doing three hard days in a row and that’s not ideal.
I also took a day off today. Breakfast was a cup of Scottish breakfast tea w/sugar and a touch of milk + 2 pieces of country white bread toast w/margarine and some homemade blackberry jam. All downhill after that…lunch was pizzan (just cheese!) b/c someone called and asked if I wanted some. Dinner was a cheeseburger and corn on the cob-drenched in butter and salt. Then to top it all of I had some ice cream w/chocolate syrup.
I also skipped training today. I wish I could say I was recovering from some intense training earlier, but it was more of just a rest day. However, I am going backpacking this weekend so I’m expecting to make up for some of the lack of exercise and unhealthy food choices then.
I’m not horribly upset over today though. I actually enjoyed it a bit, although my stomach was a little upset after all the pizza.
I agree that very hard intensity workouts does destroy your muscles and that they require a long time to recover. But you can still have a consistent workout if you workout very intensely 5 times a week but different muscles each day so that in the end your muscles have about a total week to rest. It has been very effective for me but I don’t run much since running reduces muscle and I am not looking to reduce my body fat currently but will probably once summer come around.
Im always told I should workout more intensely (which doesnt work for me—-id then NOT WORKOUT or at least dread my exercise time) so this post was PERFECT.
Hi Leo,
I’m a fan of zenhabits and happen to be training for my first triathlon. So when you started logging your training schedules I became very interested.
I’m new to the sport and new to an athletic lifestyle in general, (i.e., I don’t really know what I’m talking about) but it does seem like your training volume is really, REALLY high. I’m not sure what distance you are training for but even most Ironman training programs I have seen start with pretty short workouts. And, as you said, the training intensity should be very low because for endurance sports you need more aerobic than anaerobic efficiency.
Also, one think you might want to consider is on days after very intense bike/run speed workouts/bricks, etc… only go for a swim. They say it’s good for recovery because it is easy on the muscles but is still a good cardiovascular workout. (Out of curiousity, have you ever used Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin? It’s kind of “zen” and actually really helped my swimming.)
Anyway, I’m sure these are things you already know but it saddened me to hear you’re sore and wish you much success!
@Ann: Your day off sounds great! We all need those days off, so feel good about it. I know I feel a bit frustrated, because I really want to exercise, but I know my body needs it.
@Adam: I’m not sure that I agree that you can work out 5 times a week *very* hard, even if you switch muscle groups. Maybe we have a different use of the term “very hard” … I don’t just mean lifting heavy, but I mean working out so hard that you can barely get out of bed in the morning and you really don’t feel like you can do another workout that next day. This is the kind of “very hard” that comes from a really hard race.
I think moderately hard is a good intensity — you’re feeling the burn but not so hard you can’t breathe and not so hard you feel like collapsing at the end.
@MizFit: Well, I think the mistake a lot of people make is either working out too easy, working out too hard, or just doing a moderate intensity every day. I think the majority of training should be a mix of moderately hard (as opposed to just moderate) with relatively easy endurance and even easier recovery (or rest). There should be some higher intensity workouts too but they should be limited, because you can’t recover from them right away and too many will break your body down and lead to overtraining.
@travisalta: Good luck with your first triathlon! It’s exciting isn’t it!
As for my training volume being high … you might be right. I started out with a running schedule designed to slowly build up my miles, with a twice-a-week heavy weight workout. Then I decided to do a couple triathlons for fun and added a couple workouts for swim and bike to the mix. Then I got more into triathlon training and increased it a little more. So yeah, I might be overdoing it. :)
I’ve cut my schedule back a *little*, and I’m starting that schedule next week. I’ll post it soon so you can take a look.
Also, I just bought Total Immersion and I’m loving it! I haven’t actually been able to put it into use in the water as I just bought it a couple days ago, but I think it’s exactly what I need.
Another recommendation, if you haven’t read it yet, is the Triathlete’s Training Bible by Joel Friel (detailed info but very useful).
Let’s keep in touch about our triathlon training — we can share and help each other out!