The Balance between Training and Resting

In a recent article Paul Hobrough gave an interesting definition for fitness that applies most definitely to ultra-marathon and endurance runners. He stated that “your fitness is measured by the speed at which that muscle fiber can recover before it is needed again” (Coyle 2012:67).

This differs to a great extent from the standard definition of fitness published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), and which has become the benchmark for fitness. According to the USDHHS, fitness is “a set of attributes that people have or achieve that relates to the ability to perform physical activity” (USDHHS 1996). This definition defines fitness within five core components:

1. Cardiorespiratory endurance, which is in essence the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen rich blood to the muscles to sustain activity (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Corbin & Lindsey, 1994). It is my opinion that most, if not all, ultra-marathon athletes have this element well under control. Months, if not years, of aerobic training has developed lung capacity which enables an individual to inhale a larger volume of oxygen, and heart development means that oxygen rich blood gets to the muscles when it is needed. For most runners this is the foundation upon which they build their training.

2. Muscular strength is the second element and is defined as the “ability of the muscle to exert force during an activity” (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Resistance training is the primary source of muscle strength development. This comprises weight training targeted at specific muscle groups.  

3. Muscular endurance is the third element and is the “ability of the muscle to continue to perform without fatigue” (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Muscle endurance is improved through sustained cardiorespiratory activities such as walking, jogging or cycling. The long-runs, in time or distance, which forms part of most training programs as well as hill training sessions, all work together to improve muscle endurance. As ultra-marathon or endurance runners we are used to training in this ‘zone’. We log many hours each week and continue to increase our distances to ensure that we develop and remain in a relatively peak condition.

4. Body composition is the next element and focuses on “the relative amount of muscle, fat, bone and other vital parts of the body” (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Corbin and Lindsey, 1994). This is, therefore, related to the ever changing BMI number in which body height, gender, weight and age all play a role in defining the illusive ‘normal’. It goes without saying that an athlete focusing on the preceding three elements will, over time, reach the most balanced state where the body comprises of lean muscle, with little fat.

5. Flexibility is the last element in the USDHHS definition. It concerns “the range of motion around a joint” (USDHHS, 1996 as adapted from Wilmore & Costill, 1994). Flexibility is improved by lengthening the muscles and is improved through swimming and stretching.

Given the fact that most ultra-distance runners that I know meet all five of the elements above, which provides them with a set of attributes that enables them to perform the physical activity of running, it is difficult to understand why their performance changes from time to time. The answer, I think, is found in Hobrough addition which relates fitness to muscle recovery.

Muscle recovery comes into play at two stages in an ultra-distance athlete’s life, the first is during training and the second is during multi-stage runs. The importance of allowing muscles to recover during training ensures higher intensity work-outs and allows a runner to remain injury free. Over the long-term this has obvious benefits such as training stability, consistency and general improvement. During runs the ability of the muscles to recover is vital to sustain a consistent performance.

The question is, therefore, how do we add this sixth element to our training programs, and what are the sub-components that forms part of it? Prevailing wisdom seems to define recovery in-terms of rest, nutrition and rubbing or massaging tired and overworked muscles.

1. Rest, forms the foundation upon which we build our training. Learning how to read our bodies and how to allow our bodies to recover is essential in remaining injury free. It allows for improved time and distance, keeps training constant, and the mind focused.

TriathleteSA magazine published an interesting article on understanding fatigue (Van Heerden 2012:70). In the article they published a recovery rest table which relates training effect (effort) level to effective recovery time. It comes down to rating your training effort on a scale from 1.0 to 5.0 where 1.0 being at rest and 5.0 representing over reaching. The table below is very crude and in need of refinement, but the idea is sound.

Training Effect Level	Effective Recovery Time
2.0 – 2.2	10-12 hours
3.2 – 3.4	20-24 hours
4.4 – 4.6	44-48 hours

If consecutive day training is scheduled, training intensity should, according to the table, not exceed an effect level or 3.2 -3.4 which seems to indicate a real effort of around 64 to 68% of maximum exertion level.

The main idea, however, is to ensure that you provide your body with sufficient rest cycles. From a multi-day endurance race view-point the same would apply.

2. Massage is the second element through which to ensure a speedy recovery. I will deal with sports massage in more detail at a later stage on this blog. The important thing to realize is that training results in muscles that do need a competent and qualified person to assist in their repair through the use of sport massage.

How much massaging, is dependent upon the number of workouts you do weekly. The proposed rule is to take the number of workouts and divide it by two, round off-downwards. The number you are left with is the amount of massage sessions required per month. Example: 5 training sessions plus 1 race session per week equals 6 activity sessions, divide this by 2, leaves you with 3 massage sessions per month.

3. Diet is the final element. I have dealt with diet elsewhere on this blog. My own nutritional experimentation will be updated shortly.

  

In closing, fitness is as much about muscle recovery as it is about the muscles ability to function during exertion. It is, therefore, as important to focus on recovery strategies as it is on training strategies.

I will expand on individual elements in the coming weeks so do return to get an updated view.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

Genis     

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Sources

Van Heerden, Z. 2012. Understanding Fatigue. TriathleteSA. March 2012. Page 70-71.

Coyle, D. 2012. Here’s the Rub. Men’s Running Magazine. March 2012. Page 66-67.

USDHHS 1996. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Physical activity and health: a report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; 1996.