When leading up to competition it’s very important that we are feeling our best when the big day comes around. I personally like to do this by incorporating a deload week the week before competing. This makes us feel more energised, feel recovered and ready to compete.
In a deload week you should:
- Scale back training by reducing weight & intensity.
- Focus on technique, this will take valuable seconds off your time.
- Chill out more, however you may do this.
- Sleep more.
- Eat a high protein diet varied diet.
Here’s an example of a deload week:
Monday - train at 80% - strength training
Tuesday - Rest & Stretch
Wednesday - Rest & Stretch
Thursday - Train 45 minutes aerobic conditioning (light weights)
Friday - Train 30 minutes of easy effort jogging with a couple of high intensity efforts to loosen up and get the blood pumping.
Saturday - Race Day
When it comes to nutrition on race week, it’s important that recovery is at the top of our priorities. This means:
- Lots of protein
- Lots of carbohydrates
- A good amount of healthy fats
- Lots of fruit and vegetables
- Nothing that causes additional inflammation (don’t be having dairy if you’re lactose intolerant etc.)
We also need to stay hydrated all week. 3-4 litres of water per day is a minimum!
Note that deload weeks don’t always have to be just before a competition. You might use a deload week after an intense training block to recover before starting a new one.
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