Hi Mel,
My training is starting to ramp up now and I'm finding myself too strapped for time (or energy) to properly recover from hard efforts so I can do it all again the next day. Which of all recovery methods would you say is the most important, or would have the most impact, that I should make sure I do?

-cool down
-stretching
-massage (using The Stick)
-recovery session (easy bike, run, swim)
-sleep
-nutrition
-other suggestions?

Thanks,
Kim

hi kim,

You might be using the same energy system back to back, which is difficult to recover from no matter what you do.

If you try to do sprints in the pool, then 400m repeats the next day and then 1 min VO2 intervals on the bike the next day you are training the same energy system too many days in a row without adequate recovery.

I would suggest you do a workout early in the week that is high quality, like 400m repeats, swim sprints or short, very hard hill repeats on your bike. The next day, do something endurance, like a longer ride. The day after that, do something at or just below threshold, like mile repeats running or longer hill sessions of about 3-6 minutes on your bike. Then take another day of _base_ endurance or rest. On the weekend, one day can have quality, the other day should be endurance. That way you can avoid OVER training.

Periodically I will do a few workouts in a day, or in a row, that are hard. I will then feel the fatigue that results and need to use all of the above methods to recover. However, I also don't have another job so I have more time to come back from hard training... and I STILL think back to back to back is very hard. I would try one day on super hard, one day endurance and so on and see if you can get more quality on the hard days.

My 2 cents.

I see what you mean, thanks.
-Kim