What’s a good rule of thumb about when to change up your workout routine and when to just take a whole week off even? I know rest is important and I’ve even heard of guys taking a whole week off for recovery…does anybody else do this and does it work?
I have been on the same workout routine for about 6 months and have seen some improvements I might add, but when should I take a week off or change things up? My goal/focus is sprint type triathlons for now.
My workouts consist of speed, tempo & endurance in all three disciplines. I feel fine just getting tired of the same old same old.
Thanks
Change up your workout routine when you have reached your goal, plateaued, or are just sick of it.
Resting does work, the body repairs, adapts, and improves at rest.
As to a week off, it is impossible to say, since we don’t know how hard you are actually pushing yourself. There are plenty of fitness, running, biking, and triathlon books that talk about periodization, overreaching, and recovery cycles that could guide you with significantly more wisdom to determine this on your own.
My gut says you are overdue for some change. As to the rest, it depends on how much rest is built into your current schedule. Nonetheless, do a light week and see how the week after is.
I’m not sure if there is a definite answer to how long you should be doing the same workout before it gets stale, but if you stop improving, or get bored, or run down, that’s probably a good indicator to mix things up.
I think a good training plan should take care of this problem for you. For example, in the winter your workouts will consist of slower base building work, gradually moving to more tempo and speed work for your A race(s) in the summer. Do these with 3 weeks building volume or intensity or both depending on what stage of the program you’re in, then one week easy to recover and prepare for the next 3 weeks.
This should give your workouts plenty of variety! I know others disagree, but I throw weights into the mix just because constantly SBR’ing can drive me bonkers.
Throw in a new goal, like an open water swim or a 10k to mix up your routine. You could do a single sport block for a week or two here and there just to see what you can do.
We’re not getting paid to do this stuff, so make it interesting once in a while.