Training: Learning When to Go, Slow & Pause
When you start to look at some of the top athletes, we start to notice something really simple… those at the top last a really long time. This is because they understand that they cannot push themselves to the limit with their performance and their training all the time. Instead, they need to vary their intensity throughout their training schedules—daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.
They practice discipline with their training but also with knowing when to scale back or take it easy when their body or mind needs it. They understand that this helps prevent burn out both physically and mentally.
Maybe you are not looking to come close to the top athletes out there but the same rules apply… maybe even more so.
Your level of discipline ultimately decides what kind of athlete you will be.
The Role of Pullbacks in Training
Let’s keep the first thing first… Training is stress within the body. It is considered positive stress for the most part, but it is still stressing nonetheless. Depending on how much we push, our body might need more time in between training sessions and the nutrition to support the recovery. Without adequate rest & nutrition, people risk overtraining, which can lead to injuries, fatigue, and diminished performance.
We can help by changing up training intensity over different periods—daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly—people can optimize their performance and progression.
We can pullback, or a period of reduced training intensity, to prevent mental and physical burnout. And during these times, we are giving ourselve the chance to restore of energy reserves, repair of muscle tissues, and mental rejuvenation, all of which are essential for long-term success.
Recognizing When to Pull Back
This can be one of the hardest skills to learn. Truly, recognizing when you should pull back. I currently work with women who have kids and jobs and are balancing everything with life, but are also striving to run half marathons and marathons. These women don’t stop. They are resilient. And they carryover this aspect, many times to their training. But it doesn’t always help us.
I jokingly say to some of my clients that a marathon or half marathon won’t let us wing it like we winging it half of the other times. Long distance running will demand a lot of you. These distances are common in the running community, but they are not common in life. These are considered extreme to others. And I like that thought process one we’re trying to think about the balance of push and pull back.
In order to do something extreme, we need to counter it to keep it going. So how do we do that? If our training is extreme to meet the needs of race day, we need to have pullback. We also need to have our nutrition and our rest time at a level that can match that extreme training.
So how do we see it? We are looking for moments of persistent physical fatigue. Mental exhaustion. Decreased performance. But think about it… for anybody who has had a newborn, all of these things are present. Now take a woman who has children, a job and a family…. ask her if she’s physically fatigued. Ask her if she is experiencing some mental exhaustion. It’s not so easy then is it?
It wasn’t easy for me either. I do best with some kind of structure in place. It helps me fight the mental side. I have the habit of going one of two ways; beating myself up for not being more disciplined, even when I probably should take some rest OR overly rationalizing that I need a rest day when I probably don’t actually need one, but I just don’t want to do it. it’s kind of maddening sometimes!
So these are some of the things that I ask myself…
Using a Scale for Readiness for Exercise
After that pause and moment of reflection, I’ve found that I do best when I can give myself a quantitative score that has direction attached. This takes my mindset obstacles out of the way for me.
This is my readiness score ranging from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates utter exhaustion and 10 signifies full energy specifically for the workout.
- On days when I feel like I would be at 7 or above: I consider increasing the intensity by choosing heavier weights or pushing a bit harder.
- For days when I fall between 4 and 6: I focus on just completing the workout and not push myself excessively.
- If I fall at a 3 or below: I actually do consider skipping the set workout to prioritize rest and recovery. Now this might be active recovery with choosing something like yoga or a walk outside. Or it might just be rest and recovery with my bed and a book.
This is purely my process. It’s something that I set up for myself. You can set up some thing similar for yourself too. It doesn’t have to be overly complex. It has to only meet the needs for the things that you know you will struggle with when it comes to being real with yourself regarding your training, nutrition, and rest
Strategies for Effective Pullbacks
Now that we’ve gone over why we might slow it down and how we might recognize that we need to… we need to actually look at what we might be doing when we’re slowing it down or pausing.
Adjustments to Training
There are so many possibilities here so I’m just going to list a few…
- Incorporate active recovery days with low intensityactivities like walking, yoga, or swimming leisurely.
- Structure your running plan with pull down the weeks.
- Adjust your overall training volume.
- Follow prescribed pacing and try not to push harder than is already asked.
- Adhere to your exact taper if you are in a running program.
- Implement deload weeks within strength training programs every 6-8 weeks, if not sooner.
- Using a readiness scoring system to determine if you need to pull back your effort for the day.
Adjustments to Nutrition
There are so many possibilities here so I’m just going to list a few…
- Eat an adequate amount of calories to perform well.
- Focus on including high-quality proteins.
- Get in complex carbohydrates over more simple carbohydrates.
- Actively work to include healthy fats (monounsaturated or polyunsaturated) in your diet instead of a large amount of saturated fats.
- If you are within a calorie deficit phase while training, implement Diet Breaks: An Intentional Maintenance Period.
- Pull back on alcohol during run programs to better focus on hydration and rest.
Adjustments to Rest & Recovery
There are so many possibilities here so I’m just going to list a few…
- Prioritizing your sleep hygiene
- Be sure to stay connected with your loved ones through some forms of socialization
- Include time for your hobbies
- Using a Readiness scoring system to determine if you need to rest
- Many more suggestions on how to rest here: 7 Different Types of Rest
Long-Term Benefits of Strategic Pullbacks
If you learn when to go, slow and pause… you will extend the time that you are able to train. You will remain functional and embracing the sport or training that you love.
These pullbacks allow the body to heal and adapt, maintaining peak performance over time. Sustained discipline in following a well-structured training plan, including pullbacks, helps build consistency and resilience too.
Takeaway
Take a moment to evaluate your current training routine.
Have you felt the need to go, slow or pause lately?
Have you felt some nagging injuries popping back up or other things that are just pulling you down lately? Have you eased up on your training? Have you given yourself a little bit more rest? How are you doing with supporting this with your food?
And for anybody who needs it… you are not lazy when you take a rest day. You’re caring for yourself. Somebody’s got to especially if you are going to see how far that body of yours can go.
