Recovery – travelling is not resting

Working with several different athletes this week, from fencing, modern pentathlon and basketball, who looked very tired.
When we talk about what is making them tired, it doesn’t appear to be a heavy training load, their nutrition could be improved (whose couldn’t?) but the key factor is the amount of travel that is required to attend their training or competition.

When you add the stress of work or school and study on there, you can see why they become ill or get injured.

Travel is not rest, so how can you make it less stressful?

Make sure you have warmed down, showered, eaten and rehydrated before getting on your journey post competition.

Take a form of relaxation on the journey- reading, music, or sleep (difficult if you are the driver).

Ensure that you have regular stops and move around on those stops, park as far away from the toilets as you can to make sure you get more walking done.

Avoid the service station food, instead eat and drink regularly on the journey.

As a Coach, factor travel time under additional stressors, and realise that a 3 hour round trip to do a 1 hour training session may not be conducive to achieving peak performance. Your athlete may be better off at home and working on individual skills and getting more rest.