[george.peridas]

I’ve noticed that when I get sick it’s most often during recovery weeks, and not during the 2-3 week period when I escalate training volume in a cycle.

Is there something that I might be doing wrong? Does the body seize an opportunity to rest when it is no longer being pushed? Should I be placing more emphasis on recovery workouts during recovery weeks as opposed to taking 1-3 days (not necessarily in succession) completely off?

The recovery week of course comes directly after the point of highest stress (the most recent volume-increase week), so it may be obvious why this is happening, but I just want to make sure I am not missing anything or “resting too much”.

Thanks.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on March 7, 2018 at 3:30 pm #8534

George:

It sure does not sound like you are rest too much. If this is happening often enough that you notice a pattern then I take a look at the week leading into that rest week. It sounds to me like the load then is so high that it is really running you down and leaving your immune system depressed so you get sick a few days later.

In general light activity is going to speed recovery better than total rest. Unless you are completely trashed or sick/

Scott

[george.peridas]

george.peridas on March 7, 2018 at 7:18 pm #8549

Thank you very much, Scott. I will watch out for overdoing it.

[lionfish90]

lionfish90 on March 8, 2018 at 7:23 am #8552

That’s a bummer, but it’s good to notice a pattern b/c then you can fix it!

What is your volume increase from week to week during the ramp up before getting sick during the recovery week? (Meaning percentage increase in volume, presumably in total training time)

Material here and in TftNA recommends increases of 10% or even 5%, with a general upper limit of 15% (in the forums somewhere here), so maybe check if you are surpassing that.

Another thing to check would be: Of the week’s volume, what percentage is at what intensity (Z1 – Z4)? Maybe you’re putting a lot of your Z3/4 work in that final week before recovery week?

A third thing to check would be: How are your sleep and nutrition during the work periods?

Good luck!
Rene’

[JeremyG]

JeremyG on March 9, 2018 at 11:03 pm #8603

For what it’s worth, I got sick a couple times last year after my training volume got pretty high (for me at least) and the intensity started to pick up. I think I just kinda hit a wall of what my body could handle. This year has gone better (so far, knock on wood) and I’ve been including some easier workouts well below my AeT to keep the stress on the system down as the volume has increased.

[george.peridas]

george.peridas on March 10, 2018 at 10:52 pm #8630

Thank you all for your replies and insight.

@lionfish90, I ramp up at the recommended rates, i.e. 5-15%. Nothing crazy. @JeremyG, I am very conscious of keeping the intensity down, so no, I am not out there spending endless Z3 hours.

I can’t say this has become a pattern yet, but there is a possible culprit: insufficient sleep. I have a a full-time desk job and we have two young boys. So my rest isn’t what I’d like it to be. If this keeps happening, something’s going to have to give.

Thanks again – stay healthy and safe!