The competition highlights of this year's triathlon season are largely over. A short but very intense season with many closely staggered events lies behind us. You trained a lot to keep in shape from spring to late summer/autumn. Now it's important to shut down your systems to redefine goals and gather energy for the training build-up to come: off-season. We'll show you how to use them properly!
Why break is important
Time out for the body...
After the intense competition period, it is important to give the body enough time to recover! All the complaints that may have accumulated over the course of the season and never had enough time to heal completely can now be regenerated in peace!
...and the spirit
But not only the body is ready and ripe for a break after the season highlight! The head can finally switch off and no longer has to concentrate exclusively on wattage, time splits and heart rate values. Social contacts and hobbies outside of sport are often neglected during the competition season. The off-season is the ideal time to spend more time with friends or other hobbies. The seasonal break is also perfect for creating “new stimuli” from a culinary point of view! In the competition phase you don't always have the opportunity to eat what you want. During the break you don't have to worry about it and you can treat yourself to something!
Anyone who neglects such a profound physical and mental recovery will lose fundamental substance in the long term and will not be able to perform optimally. Negative effects can increase from increased sensitivity to stress to increasing motivation problems and even burnout in extreme cases. If injuries are not properly treated, there is a risk of chronic complaints.
Pause - but how?
After the last season's highlights, you can take a passive two-week break without a guilty conscience, ie no training, put your feet up, relax.
For most it is more of an effort to really do nothing. Just switch off the bad conscience, that's important. Most of the time you only really notice how tired your body is after a few days of complete rest, because the training keeps it at a constantly high activation level for months.
After this passive break, the urge to move comes through again for many. That's good, because it mainly speaks for mental recovery. On a beautiful, sunny autumn day, we simply get out on the bike again - without pressure, without looking at the wattage or the speed. Anyone who has reached this "I feel like moving again" point can now switch to active regeneration: sports or other activities as you wish. You don't have to start all over again with the swim-bike-run scheme. Especially in autumn or winter there are many alternative activities:
- mountain biking
- Hike
- in-line skating
- cross country skiing
- spinning
- Courses in the gym
- Stability training/functional training/strength training
Just listen to your body and do what is fun and does you good. Competitions and intensive training sessions should therefore be avoided, as no body can continuously give 110% performance. Every professional also needs some time after the season highlight to regain strength.
Tip: extend the open water season
Here you will find everything you need for your perfect open water experience:
It is advisable to do a relaxed swimming and running session at least once a week during the break. This way you don't lose the feeling of water and the body stays used to the impact load that occurs when running. However, neither unit has to be longer than 30-45 minutes.
Ideally, you concentrate on your technique in these units! Improved economy and efficiency during the off-season definitely pays off later in the competition preparation!
However, you can leave your racing bike where you are during the break. Endurance can be trained well with the above-mentioned alternatives and fast cycling in slush on the road is also not without risk.
A rough guideline for the duration of the entire off-season is 3-6 weeks. It all depends on the individual needs of the athlete. A good signal to start structured training again is to be full of motivation for the upcoming season!
Planned into the new season
The last few days of the break can be used to prepare and plan for the coming season. It makes sense to review the last few months and analyze what went well and what went badly. However, you should always look ahead.
Here are some examples to consider when planning:
- What is the upcoming season highlight (distance)? When does registration open or do I have to register quickly before the competition is fully booked?
- What is my goal (finish / improve time)?
- When is the competition? How much time is left and when do I get back into the structured training?
- Are there intermediate goals / preparatory competitions?
- Which training priorities do I want to focus on (e.g. improve significantly in one discipline)?
The answers to these questions will give you a rough timetable for the coming season. Long-distance races in particular are often booked up quickly, so it's worth planning and registering early. Training camps and any associated vacation planning can also be done in a relaxed manner at the end of the off-season. This saves stress during the training phase!
As soon as the planning is done and there is enough motivation for the upcoming events, you can start with the first module - the basic training.
