Neural Fatigue and Recovery
I just thought I would share a short update on Neural Fatigue and rest.
One of my athletes texted me last week to say that he felt very flat, had no zip, and wanted to know if he should have the day off. He said he didn’t feel that tired but when he went to run up the stairs at work he had nothing. As we know athletes are not good at having time off especially if they are scheduled to train that day. Anyway, we decided to take two days’ rest. Big call for an Olympic athlete. Are you sure I should have two days off he asked? Yes, I am sure I replied. You have classic symptoms of neural fatigue and up to 72 hours of rest is required to let your system recover.
2 days later…..I get a message ” I just PB’d my cleans today in the gym. My reply was awesome. The following day I get another message, I had just PB’d my deadlift in the gym.
My reply” Two days rest = 2 PBs, hey. 🙂
Rest = big improvements. Rest has to be treated as part of training. A recovery day is just that a recovery day. I love it when athletes give me good feedback as to how they are feeling. This allows me to make adjustments to their program and helps me with their current program and future planning as well.