- Periodizing training helps achieve results without stress.
- Set priorities according to the season, devoting more to strength and technique away from competitions.
- Listen to your body and adapt your training to your physical and mental state, engaging in alternative activities to keep motivation high.
Ihighly doubt that even the great Vasco always went “al massimo” despite singing about it in one of his biggest hits. Some people believe that constantly pushing at maximum effort leads to the best results. There are plenty of best practices to follow to become fitter, stronger, and faster. But sometimes, it’s just not possible to do everything. In certain situations, bending over backward to never miss a workout can cause more stress than benefit.
Trying to do everything and ending up with nothing
Being able to alternate running, mobility, strength sessions without forgetting to follow a healthy diet, get enough sleep and also give yourself some rest can really be a mission impossible. To make sure your efforts don’t go to waste, you can divide your season into phases, alternating training focuses. This way, you get the most out of each aspect without reaching the point of physical or mental burnout.
The periodization technique
Even professional athletes divide the year into seasons: there is the competition season and the off season, when the focus of training changes and more room is given to recovery. Periodizing your workouts will help you give new stimuli to your body, which will become stronger without overloading itself.
Set priorities
Following this logic and taking inspiration from the pros, you can plan training cycles outside of race season that prioritize athletic preparation: focusing on strength training, running technique, and mobility. During this phase, running takes a backseat. That doesn’t mean you should stop running completely, but rather reduce its frequency and intensity to make room for other types of training.
As you get closer to the start of the race season you will follow the opposite trend, increasing runs and decreasing with other training sessions. However, the same principle applies: you shouldn’t completely abandon the strength, technique, and flexibility work you’ve done in the previous months.
Accept the phase you are in
Regardless of the season indicated by the calendar, periodization should always follow not only your goals but also the state you’re in: do you feel tired all the time, are you frustrated because you can’t improve or can’t regain the form you had months ago? Change your strategy and devote yourself to something else: swim, join a Hyrox class, take advantage of the last of the snow and go skiing on the weekend. It won’t be wasted time. On the contrary you will push away the feeling of dissatisfaction and, when you return to running, you will do it with a different spirit. But no rush, impatience is bad never a good advisor!