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Easing Back In...

Tuesday, 11 March 2014 07:10

By Karen Allen-Turner (usatriathlon.org)

Many athletes use the offseason as a chance to step away from the routine of training and enjoy some well-deserved rest. By now, they’ve had time to think about goals for the coming year and races to register for and have a renewed enthusiasm for the sport. But, it’s also important to know when to pull the reigns in and ease back into things. While many of us know what we should be doing, our overzealous nature can...

sometimes hamper our logical return to training.

Many athletes make the mistake of jumping back into training at full speed and then suffer the consequences later. I like to use and apply these five 'F' principles — function, form, frequency, far and fast — when returning to training after a break. Let me explain.

Function comes first. Ensure that any pre-existing injuries have been addressed. While you might still be in the process of working through them, it is important to take time to assess how the injury might have developed in the first place. Was it from overtraining, introducing too much stress on the body too soon or from a biomechanical or structural imbalance? Once you have a clear understanding of the source of the problem, then it will help you in your process going forward.

Strength work comes into play at this time, too, to help rebuild the body. Even if you are one of the fortunate ones to have not suffered from injuries or niggles, strength work will help to ensure that your structure remains strong. Just like building a house, making sure that the mortar that connects the bricks is strong; it’s also necessary to ensure that the connective tissue, ligaments, muscles and tendons that support your skeleton are also strong. READ MORE