Back Up To Speed

Every athlete needs downtime. It’s an important part of recovery, competition sustainability, and continued desire for competition. Furthermore, it often creates a renewed drive when you start back training again.
That’s what happened today. After a week deloading, resting, and not lifting a weight (outside of 75# snatches and 95# OHS) I was ready to get back under the bar today. I was anxious to feel some heavy load, snap a bar overhead, and tough through some heavy squats.
Here’s a word of advice to those of you in those shoes. A week off free from any form of lifting will make you feel rusty. When I started moving the bar this morning, even my training partner noticed I was bit sluggish and normal standard weights looked heavier than usual. Taking the week off was a great thing for me physically and mentally. However, it’s hard to trust the process and not feel like I have lost ground.
The best training programs in the world will force their elite lifters to take weeks up to a month away from training. Sure they come back a bit undertrained, slow, and not near as strong as when they left but the time off will work wonders in the long run for their success. I have to remember this truth and so do you who plan to take some time after the Open or after a major meet. The time off is a necessity but don’t expect to start back on Monday like you’ve continued training. Your body needed the rest and so did your mind but it takes a couple days to get your body back up to speed.