Difficult training weeks are a part of the fitness process. You might curse your coach and everyone who’s ever loved them while you’re in the thick of hard a session, but we need those sessions to push ourselves forward. The rub is that we must be smart about how we approach them. But the good news is with a few tactics and skills, you can nail difficult training weeks and get the full benefit of all that sweat and strain. And all that cursing won’t be for nothin’.
It starts with a healthy set of expectations.
Set Solid Expectations
Truth is, you won’t feel like a million bucks by the time you reach the middle of these training weeks. You’ll be sore and tired. It’s part of the deal and it’s okay. What is not okay is disproportionate soreness. That’s feeling extremely sore in places that you shouldn’t feel sore or having more soreness on one side of your body. For example, having a lot of lower back soreness is no bueno. The same is true for having a lot of soreness in one hip and not the other or one leg and not the other. If you experience disproportionate soreness, it means that you’re moving in some kind of funky way. It might be that you’re using the wrong exercise for the amount of volume and intensity of the workouts. It could be that you’re using too much weight and that’s putting the boots to your form. Let’s talk a little bit more about choosing the right weights.
Be Judicious with Weight Selection
Neither intensity (how heavy the weight is) nor volume (how many reps you do) should cause you to break form. If the goal of your difficult training week is to increase the intensity of your lifting, you still need to choose weights that allow you to lift with good form and technique.
Now, if the goal of your difficult training week is to increase the volume of your lifting, then you should choose weights that are likely lighter than you think they should be. If you can’t maintain form throughout the entire set or entire workout, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with that disproportionate soreness mentioned earlier. Also, you’ll just layer on too much stress; it’ll make it hard for your body to recover. This isn’t a license to take it easy on yourself, but it is a wake-up call to tuck your ego away and be intelligent about your weight selection. For example, if you’re accruing 75 to 100 total reps of an exercise, the first set or two should feel easy. If they don’t you’re walking yourself right into a heap of trouble that’ll leave you in a heap. Also, you’re never married to a weight. Go down if necessary. Use form, fatigue, and reps in reserve as a combined gauge. If your form is breaking down, you’re overwhelmingly fatigued, and you can’t maintain the proper number of reps in reserve, decrease the weight.
Add Some Calories
You’ll need some extra calories during difficult training weeks. Now, if that scares you, don’t fret. I’m not talking about an extra meal per day or anything like that. An extra piece of fruit or two throughout the day, and likely an extra protein shake will do. You need the calories and you need the extra protein to help with recovery. You’re not going to gain weight by adding in a few extra calories during a difficult training week.
Do Little Things to Improve Recovery
Light movement between sessions is huge. I’m talking about easy walks. They’ll offer some light stimulation to your nervous system to help you shift towards parasympathetic (rest, digest, and recover), and the increased blood flow delivers nutrients to your muscles. Light walks are helpful all the time, but they’re even more important during difficult training weeks. Some extra mobility work goes a long way as well. I’m not talking about an extra hour-long hot yoga session that leaves you feeling like demons escaped through your sweat glands. That likely won’t be helpful. I mean taking a few minutes in the morning or evening to do some light stretches and joint mobility work.
I, of course, must mention sleep. It’s always important, you know that. But it requires more diligence during difficult training weeks. The increased training load sometimes causes sleep disruptions – although, sometimes it makes it easier to sleep. And, you just need more sleep to recover during these weeks. Giving yourself even an extra 30 minutes to wind down and get to sleep during these weeks can pay big dividends. That wind-down time can help you get better quality sleep, especially deep sleep, which is where most of your bodily recovery takes place.
One more thing – if regularly drink alcohol, this is the week to tone it down a bit. Not only does alcohol disrupt sleep, it affects a lot of bodily processes. I’m not here to be a teetotaling fun snatcher, but it’d be a good idea to take a break during these training weeks.
Breathe to Manage Stress
Total stress load matters. Your body does not separate training stress from stress at work or stress at home. It all accumulates and your body accounts for all of it as a threat. So, your body wants to adapt to the threat so that it doesn’t stress out so much in the future. But if there is too much of an overall stress load, your body won’t be able to adapt as well as it could. Meaning that you won’t get as much out of training or life.
Now, I’m not telling you to shut down the rest of your life during a tough training week. That’s silly, we all have lives and we all have things outside of our control. But we can all control a few moments at a time to create serene valleys that counter the peaks of stress that come from training and the rest of our lives. You must have the downtime in at least somewhat equal proportion to the stressors placed on your body and mind.
That doesn’t mean you need to sit down every day for a 2-hour guided meditation. But taking a few minutes to breathe during your transitions throughout the day is hugely helpful. Here’s a simple breathing exercise you can use.
Take a 4-second breath in through your nose, then exhale for 6 seconds through your nose. Once you have all of your air out, hold your breath out for 2 seconds. Then repeat the cycle. This breath cadence stimulates your vagal nerve and helps you “tone down.” You can achieve the valley that matches the peaks of your stress.
I mentioned doing this at transitions throughout your day. For example, if you’re switching tasks at work, you’re leaving work to come to the gym or get your kids, and at the end of a workout before you return home. It’s also great for helping you calm down before you go to bed. I’ve used this breathing technique every day this year, and it’s made a huge difference in how I think, feel, and recover.
Nail Your Difficult Training Weeks
Difficult training weeks are part of the deal, but we must be smart about them. Get your expectations in the right place and be smart with your weights. Add in some extra calories, move between sessions, and focus on sleep. Do some breathing exercises to lower your stress levels so your body doesn’t feel overwhelmed. Focus on those few things and you’ll nail your difficult training weeks.
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