Athletes and active individuals near Colorado Springs are always looking for the next thing to add to their routines. We operate under the misguided assumption that more is always better, and that if we can just find a little more time in the day for a new exercise or stretch, we can get rid of that nagging pain that won’t go away. However, patients who are stuck in this trap often need to focus on rest and recovery to resolve their pain and get back to doing what they love in Colorado Springs.
Why is rest important?
Anyone who has played a sport or worked in the realm of serious fitness in Colorado Springs has heard that rest is an important part of training. Rest allows the intentional “damage” associated with exercise to be healed and built back stronger. Without rest, we continually add to our total “recovery demand”, resulting in greater amounts of stress that we need to heal from in order to perform at our best. If we ignore our need for rest and recovery, we will gradually start to notice a decrease in our performance and an increase in risk of injury. This is when the need for physical therapy in Colorado Springs.
Working toward pain relief in active individuals in Colorado Springs.
Overtraining- the worst outcome from avoiding rest
When we ignore our body’s need for rest long enough, we can develop what is called Overtraining Syndrome. Overtraining Syndrome is a serious complication of consistent and rigorous exercise that is beyond our ability to recover from. It results in a combination of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms that can greatly impair our workouts and decrease our quality of life. It is a progressive disorder that can take weeks to months to recover from depending on how long it is ignored. Overtraining is most common in athletes as they are most often pushing themselves to their limits, but it can be developed by anyone who works hard in their workouts week in and week out.
What does Overtraining look like?
At this point, you may be asking yourself what the signs and symptoms of overtraining are if you can’t remember the last week of rest you gave yourself. The symptoms can be nebulous at times, but there are a few common characteristics that we can identify.
Physical symptoms:
-Inconsistent muscle stiffness and pain: This may feel like typical soreness at times, but someone who is overtraining will start to realize that their pain does not always match up with a specific workout that they recently did. Nagging injuries without a good explanation are very common, and this is typically what we see in our patients who are coming to therapy because of their poor recovery. If you are sore all the time or can only make it through a workout while pushing through pain, be on the lookout for these other symptoms in Colorado Springs.
-Altered cardiovascular function: Overtraining has a few cardiovascular impacts that can make diagnosing it more objective. Overtrained individuals in Colorado Springs will typically have higher resting heart rates, higher blood pressure, and lower heart rate variability (HRV). Many smart watches and fitness trackers will monitor HRV in particular and utilize that information to give you your recovery score for the day. The same factors will be impacted by being sick, which highlights the severity of overtraining on our overall health.
-Insomnia: When you need rest the most, overtraining pulls a fast one on us and makes sleep even more difficult. Sleep is the most important factor in recovery and a lack of sleep can result in a cascade of negative effects.
Mental and emotional symptoms:
-Depression and loss of motivation: Overtraining has been shown to have substantial impacts on our overall mood. Depression and a decrease in motivation are common signs that your body can’t keep up with your training plan and both will derail you from your goals if untreated.
-Irritability: Irritability is compounded by the presence of depression, lack of sleep, and being unable to meet your goals. When your overall health in Colorado Springs is impacted to this degree, it is hard to be our best selves which can impact our relationships in ways we are not happy with.
-Fatigue: This is likely the most obvious side effect of overtraining. When we are out of gas, we are going to feel it. If you barely have energy for your normal responsibilities let alone your workouts, it is a sign that something needs to change.
Who is at risk?
Overtraining will not affect most people over the course of their lives, but it will certainly be a risk for those who are pushing to be their best. If you’ve ever said “no pain, no gain” without a hint of irony, this article may be about you. In addition to those who are natural overachievers, overtraining is high risk for individuals who specialize in one sport and participate year round.
This is especially true for children and teens who may be pressured by parents, coaches, friends, or themselves to participate in their single sport at every opportunity they have. With year round club and travel teams becoming more common than ever, it is important for parents to watch for signs of overtraining and to consider adding regularly scheduled breaks from their children’s sport. Physical therapists in Colorado Springs are here to help.
Deloading- The key to longevity for athletes
The technical term for the breaks I just mentioned is deloading. More specifically, deloading is a pre-planned and intentional period of rest with the goal of maximizing one’s ability to recover from an extended period of exercise near Colorado Springs. If you are only performing low level exercise or a maintenance routine, you are likely recovering adequately with the rest built into your weekly routine.
For those who are training to push their limits, you may only have 1 or 2 days off per week. You may not have any days off! If that sounds like you, deloading is essential because we can only maintain that level of high intensity training for so long before overtraining sets in.
Deloading in practice
Deloading can be done in two ways, and either will generally work.
Just rest:
The first is very simple- you just stop exercising. This is the simplest strategy since you don’t have to worry about managing load or accidentally screwing up your recovery. I personally recommend this type of rest at the end of a long season, after a big race, or after your main competition. Think running a marathon or your last basketball game of the year. You’ve worked really hard for months and it is time to rest.
Take a week or two to enjoy the other hobbies you have in life (you should have something besides exercise!). Read a book, catch up on Netflix, or hang out with friends. No training aside from the lowest intensity exercise like stretching, walking, or 1-2 easy hikes near Colorado Springs.
Decreased loading/relative rest:
This is where the term “Deload” comes from. This type of rest is best done for 1-2 weeks every 1-3 months. The primary goal here is to avoid the nagging injuries associated with overtraining from developing in the first place. With this type of rest, you will continue to perform your regular exercise routine in Colorado Springs but at a decreased volume and/or intensity.
This is trickier to execute correctly as it can be hard for active individuals to show up to the gym and hold themselves back. However, if done correctly, you can typically bounce back into your regular training routine with more strength and skill in your sport than if you had done nothing for 2 weeks. There are no hard and fast rules for the “best” deload, but typically you want to focus on reducing your training volume more than intensity.
This means if you typically deadlift 225 for 4 sets of 5, you would focus on reducing the number of sets or reps rather than the weight, although reducing the weight is likely a good idea as well. I recommend cutting your training volume by around 50% and intensity around 20% to ensure you are truly changing your training enough to notice the rest when you come back to normal training in Colorado Springs.
This can also be achieved by reducing the number of workouts you do per week. If you exercise 4 days a week, you would exercise 2 days during a deload. If your sport is not as clear-cut as weight lifting, reduce the time spent practicing by half and try to give 60-80% effort compared to normal. Physical therapists near Colorado Springs can help you plan your deload.
Deloading mistakes
This all sounds simple on paper, but deloading can be ineffective or have the opposite effect if you are not careful. The biggest mistake by far is replacing a familiar activity with an “easier”, but novel exercise instead. After many weeks of training your sport, your rest week is not the time to go for your first long run in months. Everyone’s “easy” activity will vary, but I strongly encourage you to avoid the trap of “resting” with a different exercise in Colorado Springs you are not regularly training.
The second mistake during deloads is reducing the intensity, but increasing the volume of your exercise. Increased volume typically leads to a great need for recovery near Colorado Springs, so by dropping the weights at the gym but increasing the sets and reps, you may actually have the opposite effect. Another example would be replacing a 1 hour trail run with a 6 hour hike. Your goal is to give yourself rest, so let go of the desire to “feel a burn” or get your heart racing. You will get back to it after your deload week is over!
Final thoughts
Deloading and resting are some of the most important strategies we have as athletes to prevent injury, maintain performance, and continue to enjoy our sports over an extended period of time. When our training never includes intentional rest, we risk overtraining which can take weeks to months to recover from and can impact our quality of life outside of the gym in Colorado Springs.
If you want to keep it simple or you just finished your big race/competition, take 1-2 weeks off of all exercise and focus on other aspects of your life. If you are in the middle of a long training block and want to keep that training effective, schedule a true deload week where you cut your training volume by 50% and your intensity by 20%. Stick to the plan and trust that you will come back to your training stronger than before.
In need of more guidance?
Training at a high level can be complicated, so if you are already dealing with injuries or overtraining and need help navigating your recovery, consider scheduling with a trained physical therapist who is familiar with your sport and regularly works with patients just like you. Athletes often need an outside “voice of reason” to make sure they are truly managing their training volume, so don’t hesitate to reach out if you are struggling to do this on your own. Our physical therapists in Colorado Springs are always here to help you!
We proudly serve active individuals in Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Briargate, Falcon, Rockrimmon, and surrounding areas.
📞 Call us today or 📧 book your evaluation to get started with Physical Therapy near Colorado Springs: (719) 285-9670
