Off-Season Recovery
It’s the end of the season, summer is here.
I can imagine the longer you have been a boxer then the sooner the end of the season arrived the better. This is not always true, and especially for young people!
Your body needs to rest, but unfortunately, with social media playing its part all day every day, there are a million motivational videos out there saying, “rest is for the weak, you’ve got no time to sleep” and all the other tripe in between.
Don’t listen to it.
So in this article we will cover:
- Why rest?
- How to rest and plan for the forthcoming season
So why rest?
Physically you have made a million adaptations in your body this season. Your muscles, ligaments, tendons, have got stronger. Your heart is pumping out more blood per beat around your arteries. Your neurological system has infinitely changed. Essentially, you’ve rewired yourself!
All of this comes at a price. The good news is, the price you have to pay is taking a rest. For you to truly harness all of these changes within your body, rest is the answer, so take a moment, take a step back and allow your body to change.
Your brain has changed! You’ve no doubt developed your perceptual system in sparring where you have seen a million different patterns and tells from your many sparring partners. This has changed how you act to those partners. You’ve coupled a better response (hopefully!) to what you are seeing.
In short, you are getting better at boxing!
Just like your muscles, your brain needs time to resynthesise.
Imagine a bird, looking down at all the roads in England thinking to itself what a mess! When you truly learn something, your brain goes through a process called myelination where new pathways are being developed. A different response than what you used to use. This is all progress. The bird is seeing more connections and a better way for all those tiny little ant cars to get to the destination! You’re thinking better!
But again, the price of this is rest.
For these roads, whether they be muscular based ones or neural pathway based ones, you need a regular challenge to recall the roadmap.
Change in your body only really comes through repetition at the right time. And a variety of repetition, not just repeating the same thing over and over. When you are challenged to recall information or recall movements, you are more likely to deeply ingrain that learning. This is called memory recall.
So, in fact, taking a break gives you sufficient time to recover, but also a sufficient period when you are just at the edge of forgetting to recall learning and information before it goes into the memory graveyard. This phenomenon is basically called ‘spacing.’
Leave it too long, and the adaptations don’t happen, leave it too short and the adaptations don’t happen!
Reflect – recall.
How to rest and plan for the forthcoming season.
So, knowing you need to rest, you can be intentional with how to rest. What went well (WWW) last season in terms of your processes and what didn’t? Simple questions. Identify the gaps in your performance, and start setting process goals. What do you need to do in terms of positive behaviors and not just being able to land a left hook for example.
Make them about processes you can control like what type of runs to do when I start back. Good planning means you can rest knowing that you’re being proactive and not obliged to train when you should rest.
Let other people know about your goals.
The more other people know about them, the more accountable you are likely to be. Even posting them on social media can help with motivation and support. ‘I’m resting now, but from July 15th I’m getting back on the road to do 2 steady state runs a week.’
Keep a diary. What have you enjoyed this season? What do you need to double down on? What do you need to stop or change? You’re taking the information from the previous season while it’s fresh in your mind, recalling that information and beginning to goal-set before you start.
Have time for your friends and family.
I’ve seen many boxers over the years drop out of the sport because so many coaches keep banging on about commitment, commitment, commitment. Whilst this is true, there must be commitment, it can’t be at the expense of lifestyle factors that make you happy and balanced. After all, the boxer who can’t get better is the one who is not in the gym anymore. Having balance outside the gym will make you want to go into the gym!
In terms of competition, it’s always a good idea to work backwards from it. Knowing the date when you have to weigh in or help you periodise what type of activities you should be doing, how frequently and at what intensity.
The definition of confidence is “knowing the outcome.“ You are only more likely to get closer to the outcome if you have rested and planned.
So rest, recover, plan, thrive.
Have a great season.