Have you gotten what you need out of the offseason before resuming training? There is no cookie-cutter offseason plan that fits everyone. Here is how you can check in with yourself before training ramps back up.
The off-season changes (and could change from year to year) for an individual are based on a variety of factors, including the strenuousness of their in-season schedule, other life priorities, overall health and wellbeing, motivation, and durability, among others.
How to Structure Your Off-season
I like to take a phased approach to the “off-season”...meaning taking some time completely away from your primary sport for 2-4 weeks, next slowly incorporate unstructured activity including a variety of sports or activities, then start including some structure beginning with foundation strength and body work, and then ease back into structure in your specified sport.
During the initial 2 weeks, focused rest is the goal. This is probably difficult to adjust to if you are someone who never likes to miss a workout. Finding an alternative way to spend your time and focus on something else, like a vacation, taking a class, a home project, etc., during this period can be mentally helpful for the complete rest phase.
You will find that your body will begin to lean into this rest phase with improved sleep and more energy daily. This is a great time to improve any daily habits or incorporate new routines, including sleep, diet, supplementation of nutrients, etc.
Be reminded that rest will incorporate itself into your schedule either voluntarily or involuntarily. If we can lean into scheduled rest, we will be less likely to be forced into rest due to illness or injury.
Quality sleep is your #1 recovery tool, and also something that many struggle with. Using sleep aid supplementation could help reset sleep habits, but use these wisely. The Feed recently launched Dream Shot, which I have found profoundly effective without negative side effects.
Getting Back Into Training
Once an itch to resume activity naturally begins to grow within, begin to incorporate unstructured activities that you would not normally do as often (think social and soul-filling activities). The priority would be light aerobic exercise, with an emphasis on foundation strength, mobility, and body work.
Science proves that in order to have durability within our primary sport, we must be strong and balanced, and this work happens in the gym (or on your living room floor). If you need direction in what to do I highly recommend checking out EverAthlete. I have used EverAthlete for years and highly recommend it to the athletes that I coach!
Goal Setting
Goal setting is also a very important part of the off-season! Having goals in place that inspire and drive motivation for the work that you are committing to will be fuel to the fire on those tough days when motivation doesn’t come easily. These goals will create the building blocks for the structured training that will eventually resume.
Continue to be good to yourself and focus on the long game. Take a phased off-season to refresh and reset, use goals to drive and focus motivation while continuing to include soul-filling activities here and there, and be sure that you are enjoying the process!
-Rose Grant
