The Importance Of Time Off

The end of a competition season can be a strange time for an athlete. You’ve spent months training with a specific goal in mind, and then suddenly, it’s over. There’s no competition on the calendar tomorrow. No next workout that you have to get done.

And for many athletes, that can be uncomfortable.

The instinct is often to get right back to work. Take inventory of what went wrong, what needs improvement, and what you need to do to be better next season. I understand that instinct. But after coaching athletes at the Games for many years, I’ve learned that coming back too soon can sometimes do more harm than good.

I’ve had athletes who jumped right back into serious training after the Games and eventually burned out or got injured. Looking back, they didn’t need another training cycle. They needed to step away for a little while.

Taking real time off after a competition season is part of the training process. Your body needs to recover, but your mind needs a break too. You’ve spent months asking yourself to train hard, make sacrifices, and stay focused on one goal. It’s okay to step away from it.

Get out of the gym. Go on vacation. Go hiking. Play golf. Spend time with your family. Sleep in. Eat some good food. Do the things that you enjoy but probably didn’t have much time for during the season.

Do something that makes your soul happy!

You will have plenty of time to train. And when you come back, you want to come back hungry. You want to be excited to train again. You want to feel physically and mentally recovered. There will always be another workout, another training cycle, and another competition. You don’t have to rush back to all of it.

So when the season ends, give yourself permission to step away. You’re not losing your edge. You’re actually giving yourself the opportunity to come back better.