REST AND RECOVERY PLANNING

As the training load progressively increases over loading microcycles, your readiness level decreases.

When you train hard for several weeks (loading microcycles), your body gets tired and your ability to perform drops.

But when you significantly reduce training during a rest or recovery week (unloading microcycle), your body recovers and your performance capacity improves.

Most importantly, your best performance, when you're at 100%, happens right after that recovery week, when your body is both well-prepared from prior training and fresh from the rest (Bompa & Buzzichelli, 2019).