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The off-season is important for athletes because it is imperative to take a break from intense training and allow the body to rest and recover properly. If you actively participate in any activity throughout the season, you know all too well how drained your body can feel when the season finally ends. From opening day to your final game, you choose to play through pesky little bumps and bruises and tweaks and pops with minimal downtime.
Off-season, it’s time for the body to sink into some much-needed active recovery, resting properly, while implementing an individualized, low-impact training routine.
While the athlete is still training in the off-season, their individualized exercise program calls for a drop in training intensity while other exercise methods, such as mobility and flexibility work , increase. And while training is always on the move during the offseason, it’s a fantastic time to work on weak spots, correct imbalances, and make overall improvements through individualized training and recovery methods.
Here, three athletic trainers offer their top tips on how to be successful off-season, allowing you to bring the best version of your athletic personality to the “field” the following season.
A look at off-season training
Off-season training allows you to get better, stronger, and faster when done correctly. “Off-season training should be low impact and should give athletes the opportunity to improve their aerobic conditioning and refine aspects of their strength and flexibility work,” says Matthew West, assistant cross country coach. , NASM personal trainer, FRC mobility specialist. , and owner of www.westmovez.com. During the off-season, “mobility and strength work may increase, intense anaerobic work may be limited, and athletes may spend time working on limiting factors that may have challenged them during the season.” He says.
During the offseason, West likes his athletes to spend more time rebuilding a sturdier engine, while filling all the important strength buckets (push, pull, hinge, squat, spin, anti-rotate, etc.) while placing additional emphasis on joint mobility work.
Keep in mind, however, that while every athlete (regardless of sport) will be actively resting during the off-season, their training programs should be based on their individual situation, such as their sport, goals, past injuries and its weaknesses.
Active Rest: The Balance Between Recovery and Maintaining Fitness
While rest is essential for everyone, an athlete looking to grow in their sport, break public relations and become the best athletic version of themselves, prioritizing off-season conditioning training is a must. While rest is part of the program, “recovery should be an active process,” West says.
Essentially, recovery doesn’t mean slowing down and becoming immobile. This means performing at a lighter intensity than during the season. “Zone 2 conditioning work is the perfect recovery tool in my opinion. I like for athletes to perform different modalities while staying in a low effort zone,” says West.
One example, West says, involves moving through multiple planes of motion during warm-ups and cool-downs, then using rowing machines, air bikes, medicine balls, and exploring ranges of motion that may have neglected during the season.
An athlete’s off-season program should be designed by an athletic trainer to ensure their needs are met and the athlete gets the most out of the off-season without overdoing it.
Home Recovery Tools
Today, there are helpful recovery tools that can be used at home to speed up the healing process and prevent injury. Terrance Miller, a former high school football coach and former running back at Northeastern State University recommends an athlete invest in a foam roller and make sure to use it frequently. This tool, found in most gyms these days, helps break up tight fascia and relax muscles, increasing flexibility, which can equate to better athletic performance and help prevent injury. “A massage gun and heating pad will also benefit your at-home recovery,” says Miller.
In addition to a foam roller, West suggests using active recovery tools, a lightweight medicine ball, a yoga block for stretching and mobility work. These can be a great way to keep the body flexible and strong.
Good hydration (take a Gatorade)
As always, without proper hydration it is nearly impossible to perform at the highest level. “If an athlete is even one percent dehydrated, their performance will decline,” says Michael Wittig, ISSA CPT, sports performance specialist and nine-time pro natural bodybuilding champion. And that goes for the offseason too.
“Hydration is essential for peak performance,” says Wittig. “The athlete should strive to stay hydrated before, during and after workouts.” He recommends. So grab your Gatorade and your water bottle because your performance depends on it.
“Generally, an athlete should drink six ounces of fluid every 12 to 15 minutes,” says Wittig, and after training Wittig recommends an athlete drink 16 ounces for every pound of weight lost during activity. “When the athlete is subjected to extreme temperatures and high humidity, it is also important to replace lost electrolytes,” he says.
“Athletes can drink a sports drink like Gatorade to stay hydrated, replenish carbohydrates and electrolytes. Says Witig. Investing in buying Gatorade in bulk will ensure you never fail to stay properly hydrated.
Wittig’s off-season training must-dos
- Don’t ignore off-season training and recovery: “It’s easy for young athletes to ignore recovery practices,” says Wittig, but if you want a long career, developing good recovery habits now would be encouraged. “As athletes age, recovery is even more important and it is encouraged to develop good habits young to reduce injury rates later in life,” says Wittig, and the key to maximum recovery during the off-season for any athlete” is to include recovery methods in all aspects of life, including form of exercise, timing and periodization of training, nutrition, hydration, and exercise habits. sleep.
- Don’t get “overtrained”: It’s different from just training too hard for a long period of time, but also from letting all the other “stressors” of life (environmental, psychological, physiological and anatomical) accumulate. Regular discharges can help prevent overtraining, but also reduce stress in your life from other sources. Overtraining can lead to injury.
- Don’t let yourself sleep: Sleep is essential for recovery and optimal maintenance of natural levels of growth hormone. Aim for between seven and nine hours of sleep each night and work on developing a good evening routine to help you maximize your sleep.
- Don’t ignore the alternative recovery methods: such as chiropractic care, deep tissue massage, foam rolling, hot/cold baths, cryotherapy and other methods.
- Don’t “work through the pain”: If an athlete has unnatural pain, stop doing that move. If the pain persists, walk away for the day and let it heal.
- Never train with sloppy form and poor technique: Be aware of every movement and recognize the purpose of that movement. When athletes begin to perform the movements and are not focused on the task at hand, the form can slip and cause injury.
Keep in mind: “If an athlete’s off-season training is properly timed and careful attention is paid to recovery methods, strength and overall performance should be increased for the following competitive season. Says Witig.
This is sponsored content. M&F does not endorse the websites or products listed in this article.
