The Truth About Recovery-And How To Optimize it
“Recovery” and “overtraining” are two hot, common topics in the strength world. You’ll hear many different points of view, from “no days off, train harder” to “You can't work hard, or else you'll overtrain.” As with most topics, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Rest and recovery are essential to your long-term success, but the body is also resilient and capable in many circumstances. Let’s break down some common myths and discuss how you can properly apply these principles to your life.
That way, you can optimize your gains while training with enough intensity.
1: Overtraining/recovery myths:
A) Overtraining vs. overreaching
“Overtraining” is a scary word commonly perpetuated in the strength world. Many will tell you that lifting five times per week is “overtraining,” as if it is easy to reach this point by accident.
The truth is, overtraining is pretty rare. It is described as a "maladapted response to excessive exercise without adequate rest when one ignores the signs of overreaching and continues to train." Your body shows signs of breaking down consistently, you continue to push harder, and you pay the price for weeks and months.
True overtraining takes months and months to recover from. It disrupts your endocrine and nervous systems. Performance is decreased during this entire period until your body finally begins to repair. It's a serious situation. Yet, overtraining won’t happen from sub-maximal efforts in the gym a couple of times per week.
What may be misconstrued as overtraining is “overreaching.” Overreaching often comes from a couple of weeks of overloading training, maybe approaching failure or going past it- essentially, pushing yourself very hard for a couple of sessions or weeks. Eventually, fatigue begins to sum up, and you start to notice decreases in performance, energy levels, etc. Overreaching can be solved within a simple light/deload week, and you’ll be good as new. Many athletes experience this from time to time, and the overloading training can benefit your gains.
These two circumstances are very different: one can derail your progress for months on end; the other only affects you for a few days before you recover. The takeaway is unless you are killing yourself in the gym multiple times per day with zero autoregulation, light days, and rest days in sight: you probably won’t reach the state of “overtraining.” Your body is resilient and able to adapt and recover pretty quickly. Don’t let the fear of “overtraining” stop you from pushing your limits because you'll likely never reach that point.
B) CNS fatigue- what does it mean?
Another common term in the strength training space is “central nervous system fatigue.” Usually, when people describe "CNS fatigue," they're referring to physical sensations such as extreme exhaustion, decreased motivation, and even decreased performance.
Let's get science-y for a second here. What does this mean? CNS fatigue is defined when the motor neurons in the brain don’t function as effectively as they should, which takes a toll on your ability to perform at your best. Signals sent from the brain run along the motor neuron to the muscle fiber to produce muscle contractions. So, when the CNS is fatigued, muscle contraction is impaired. Scientifically speaking, truly "damaged motor neurons" would threaten your existence, and it's not as scary as it seems. CNS fatigue just means that when tired, your neural output from the brain has to increase (just like physical exertion under fatigue has to uptick to keep going). Your efforts won't be as effective as if you were fresh.
Both physical and mental fatigue have similar symptoms and pathways in the brain. Sometimes, even when you're exhausted, gun to the head, you "could" grind out an extra 10kg on your squat, but your brain is too tired to allow it.
The powerlifts require a great deal of focus, attention, neuromuscular control, and mind-muscle connection. Your brain tells your body where to go. It determines your execution and performance in each lift.
When you go through an exhausting 8-hour shift or spend your day doing challenging math equations, you can get the same feeling of "fatigue." Maybe your body's systems aren't damaged, but you still feel like crap and can't perform as well.
So, there are two takeaways here.
One, your motor neurons aren't broken, your CNS probably isn't "damaged," and lifting often takes more mental effort than physical. Secondly, if you're noticing fluctuations in strength, keep in mind all of the other factors of your life, where your stress levels are at, etc.- and try to manage as many variables as possible for optimal performance. Psychology matters. You've chosen a sport where the mind directly relates to every physical action. That is ALWAYS going to play a massive role in how you perform. Remember that when you have a hard day in the gym or need some time to yourself. You're not getting weaker, and you may need a mental refresh.
So, maybe overtraining and CNS fatigue isn’t as debilitating as you once thought. While your body is capable of making gains in many different circumstances, you can optimize the process. As an athlete, you should be seeking to prioritize your recovery as much as possible. That is if you want to continue seeing success. Without solid recovery habits, this fatigue can add up more quickly: physical OR mental, preventing you from hitting quality training sessions.
2. How to Improve Recovery & Performance:
Optimize nutrition.
Nutrition is the passenger to training when it comes to driving progress. Constantly dieting, following low-carb diets, or skimping on food quality can cost you pounds in the tank. As a Powerlifter, you demand a lot of your body and brain. Nutrition is the fuel that allows you to execute your lifts. Without proper habits, you’ll lack the energy and strength to hit PRs and lose muscle mass, focus, and low energy.
Simple yet effective nutrition habits look like this:
-Consuming an adequate number of calories (only cut weight if necessary, and do so with the guidance of a professional. Your calorie deficit should never be aggressive & breaks should be planned in). Spend most of your time eating at maintenance or even a slight surplus.
-Consuming an adequate amount of carbs. For Powerlifters, this is roughly 4-8g/kg/day. Time your carbohydrates before and after your workout.
-Consuming adequate protein. General recommendations are 1.6-2g/kg/day. Eat a good serving of protein 30-90 minutes after your lift.
-Including healthy fat sources in your diet.
-Consuming a balanced, mostly whole foods diet. "Balanced" doesn’t mean any foods are off-limits, but make sure you’re getting your fruits and veggies in, too. Aim for 80% of your food to come from minimally processed, whole, healthy foods (fruits/veggies/lean proteins/nuts/seeds/whole grains/etc.), and the 20% can include more “fun foods.” This ratio allows you to get adequate nutrients while still enjoying your life.
-Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water, especially before, during, and after training sessions.
Simple nutrition tips can determine whether you have a quality or poor training session. Make a habit out of the small things to see success in the long run.
2. Get plenty of sleep.
This one is a given- getting at least 7 hours of sleep per night allows you to handle more stress, recover quicker, and improve your focus. You'll notice the difference when you're sleep-deprived vs. well-rested. Additionally, this can drastically benefit your mental state, making sleep even more important. Whatever you need to do:
Set an alarm,
Lights off at a certain time, etc.,
Make it happen to set yourself up for the best results.
3. Take care of your brain gains.
Since so much of training/recovery is psychological, you better spend time recovering that brain, too. Even when your nutrition and sleep are dialed, if you’re mentally exhausted and burnt out, it will show in your training sessions.
This could be an entire topic of its own, but in short:
-Rest on your rest days. When you’re not training, don’t train! Taking a break will give your brain a chance to recover- as simply getting your gym bag and driving to the gym can lead to mental fatigue. One of the most transformative habits that has personally improved my performance is taking time to sit & lie down before/after an exhausting day. Whenever you can find time through the chaos of life, rest.
-Have an outlet for yourself. Whether it’s taking a bath, reading, going for a walk, talking to a friend or loved one, or meditating- lean on your ways to de-stress consistently. Even when you're feeling great, keep these me-time habits in your routine.
-Prioritize your mental health. This topic is far beyond my scope, but I'm a huge advocate of going to therapy, getting necessary care, and educating yourself on mental health. Prioritizing it can improve your overall life and even your training.
-Communicate with your coach and support system. When training is going good, when it’s going poorly, and when you have questions, always talk to your coach & stay connected. This open conversation helps you feel more supported and allows you to make any necessary adjustments depending on life circumstances.
4. Don’t constantly overshoot your numbers.
We all know those lifters who constantly blow their RPEs and want to lift heavy 24/7. You've probably been there.
While this may be more fun and exciting, ego training directly impacts your performance in every workout.
One day of grinding out a squat @ RPE 9.9 can destroy that following week’s deadlifts.
And these efforts add up over time.
You’re not getting any additional benefit of training to failure vs. slightly below it, compared to how fatiguing and destructive it is to your overall program.
Following your ego and maxing out 24/7 will cost you your health, longevity, and performance.
Strong athletes follow their plan and know when to back off. If it’s RPE 7, that’s what you do.
5. Get in active rest on off-days.
As mentioned before, resting on your rest days is mandatory. Extra training can cause mental and physical fatigue, plus it’s unnecessary.
But, light activities can be part of your off-days. Movement can help de-stress, improve blood flow and work capacity, and provide mental clarity.
Things like light walking, yoga, mobility work, hiking, swimming, and dancing are great ways to stay moving without taking a toll on your body.
Rest days don’t have to consist of laying in bed all day long. Some light activity can help you recover better (and fuel your brain).
Recovery is a common buzzword in the strength world, and for solid reasons. It’s vitally important to your success as a lifter. But, it may not be as simple as you think. Your body is capable of handling a lot of stress. You can adapt to many different circumstances. Fatigue can be more due to psychological vs. physiological reasons. This fact doesn’t make it any less valid or important- it just means how we view recovery must consider the mental aspect. Your body can handle a lot & you don't break easily, but take care of your brain, too. Simple, daily practices can drastically improve your recovery and your performance. Because, as athletes, it’s not just what we do IN the gym: what you do outside affects everything, too.
