I just want to know how do you guys scheldue recovery weeks and what works for you…
do you go with the standard 3 wks hard 1 week recovery ?do you just build up till taper time?do you use any other ratio 1:1/ 2:1, etcdo you work on more than 7 days cicle, etc
Depends on your definition of hard weeks - but I plan to go hard all the time - work/wife/kids create my recover weeks - sometimes they are back to back.
Here on ST, our easy weeks involve only 400 miles on the bike, a mere 30,000m in the pool, an easy 75 miles running, and 10 hours of core work.
Here on ST, our easy weeks involve only 400 miles on the bike, a mere 30,000m in the pool, an easy 75 miles running, and 10 hours of core work.
cut it out…no one does 10 hours of core
.
Hah!
my mates and I used to do 2 to 1. But that was 2 at 25 plus hours and 1 at around 15 hours.
following some prompting from Alex Simmons and a few others I’m trying a more even approach this year. Apart from the fact I don’t have 25 spare hours in a week anymore. So going for 15 + hours most weeks and letting recovery weeks/days just happen when other business takes up time.
Another interesting piece I picked up from an IAAF coaching lecturer - recover from training, not for training. If you’ve nothing to recover from, don’t schedule or complete recovery workouts just to fit a formula or pattern.
Make the most of each opportunity you can.
I think tigerchik said the 3:1 was based on athletes taking a bunch of drugs and overworking their body so much they needed a week off.
I don’t know many people who plan recovery weeks.
If you are new to hard training, then 3:1 is not a bad way to go so you can keep your marbles and keep your job and your wife. In my experience, most people only need a few extra days of easy training every 2,3 or 4 weeks. Not a whole week.
No easy weeks planned.
Life gives me my time down.
jaretj
I used to do 3:1
then I transitioned to 23:5, in days
then the 5 days started including two hard test days, so the ratio changed to 25:3
Now I’m just at 1:1
1:1 has yeilded the best results WRT injury prevention, adaptation, race performance, etc. Obviously you have to be more careful w/ 1:1, which I think is why I have had better results. Never miss a day of training anymore
A fitting question as I’m currently having an easy week following 8 weeks on. I wouldn’t normally go that long without a rest in season, but winter training volume is lower, so there’s less need for planned rest.
I’ve found in the past that following 3 weeks on:1 week off, a whole 7 days aren’t necessary for recovery, unless you’ve dug yourself a deep hole. Like Eric, I think that 23:5 is a better ratio. But I’d do my testing following the 5 rest days, not during 
I try to go hard on Tu / Th / Sat / Sun for 16 days, then go easy Mon - Fri for 5 days to let the body really absorb and recover.
Easy means no hills, no high HR, nothing more then 60 min easy.
hey sesel,
Can you give me an example of how does 5 recovery days may look like? What would you do each day. specific workout examples,etc…
will aprecciate it a lot.
I don’t do enough swimming or cycling to really have hard weeks with those except for a few months of the year. Running though, in that sport I will 3 to 5 weeks “up” with high volume, then 1 week “down” with low volume. But in my “down” running week I will do a lot more cycling and swimming.
Good post.
I think tigerchik said the 3:1 was based on athletes taking a bunch of drugs and overworking their body so much they needed a week off.
I don’t know many people who plan recovery weeks.
I know a few people would probably do a lot better to plan them. Not too often but occasionally.
I found that trying the traditional 3:1 did not work for me. By the end of the 3rd week I was beat and my workouts were lousy/not effective. But 7 days recovery seemed too long too.
I went, starting for 2008, to a 16:5 schedule. My ‘week’ starts on a Saturday, and I go hard all week, all the following week and the following weekend. So from Saturaday-Sunday is 16 days. Then I take Monday-Friday off/recovery/very easy. Then Saturday I start the whole thing over again. Only ‘drawback’ is that you never get weekends off, so to speak. But I find that after 16 hard days I’m ready to rest, and after 5 easy days I’m ready to get back at it.
And yes, I do schedule specific recovery weeks during the summer.
48:4 in weeks.
I get easy weeks after my main race of the season.
Taper.
Occasionally in the summer I’ll take an easy week or an easier few days prior to a B race, although the week before that easy week is usually brutal.
hey sesel,
Can you give me an example of how does 5 recovery days may look like? What would you do each day. specific workout examples,etc…
will aprecciate it a lot.
If I’m planning a recovery week, I’ll do it properly. There’s no point in doing a tempo run and defeating the purpose of the recovery week. Sessions are all very low intensity (using power/pace/HR/RPE) and less than 75 minutes.
To give you an example, I’ve just had 6 days very easy:
1: OFF
2: Bike 1hr, Run 5 miles
3: Run 5 miles
4: Swim 45m, Bike 1hr, Run 8 miles
5: Swim 30m, Stretching 30m
6: Bike 1hr, Stretching 15m
Right now I’m in full relaxation mode and don’t feel much like training. That will change after a few days of getting back into things. I also put extra emphasis on sleep and quality nutrition during the recovery weeks.