From a sauna session to supercompensation

Why breaks are so important to make progress

If you want to make progress in your training, you need to train regularly. This applies equally to endurance, coordination and strength training. However, the importance of training breaks, which the body needs to build up strength, is often underestimated – in the literal sense of the word.

We’ve all been there: full of euphoria about the fitness goals we’ve set ourselves, we rush into implementing the new training plan because, after all, we want to get our figure in shape for the next vacation or tone our muscles for the upcoming sports competition. Time frame? As quickly as possible. This time pressure often leads to intensive training stimuli being set too frequently, i.e. at short intervals. However, “more is more” does not lead to success when aiming for a sustainable increase in performance. On the contrary: in the worst case, overtraining can lead to a drop in performance.

Just as our heads can burn out with constant overload, we also overstrain our muscles with non-stop training. In turn, training breaks must not be too long, otherwise the increase in performance we have achieved will be reversed. So what is the “right” amount of training?

Even if the genetic predisposition is different for each of us and we therefore all react differently (quickly) to stimuli, the following basic rules help to achieve sustainable training success:

• Regular training: Just 1-3 training sessions per week helps to achieve progress
• Increase training stimuli: If our body is challenged, it adapts to the load and thus becomes stronger, faster and more agile. To avoid a habituation effect, the body has to be “stimulated” again and again:
  • Increase weight over the training period,
  • increase the “time under tension”, i.e. the duration of muscle strain
  • increase the speed during endurance training to become faster or, for example, incorporate short sprint intervals to increase explosive power

• No overstimulation: During training, you need to leave your comfort zone, this is the only way to challenge your body. However, too much stimulation damages the stressed system – injuries can occur. Therefore: train in moderation!
• Take breaks: Exercise and recovery form a unit. The exerciser only gets better after recovery:
  • After exercise, there is a temporary decrease in athletic performance (fatigue).
  • The body regenerates during the training break (recovery phase).
  • The initial level is reached again after the break. If ideal regeneration has taken place and training is continued at the right intervals, the training level will improve.

• Supercompensation: If the training stimulus was excessive during training, so-called supercompensation, an increase in performance beyond the initial level, occurs during the further course of the training break.
• Keep at it: If there are no further training loads after a certain period of time, i.e. if the training break is too long, there will be a gradual return to the starting level.

Activities for regeneration

Just like our brain, which converts or discards what we have experienced into memories during our night’s sleep, our body behaves in a similar way, regenerating and increasing its performance during training breaks. As a rule, a 24-48 hour break from training is recommended. However, this depends on the intensity of the exercise and the individual fitness level. It is always helpful to initiate the regeneration phase after a workout with a “cool-down”: relaxed stretching, rolling out on a fascia roller, or a light cardio cool-down on the stepper, for example.

Many people also find a visit to the wellness area particularly beneficial: whether it’s the sauna, steam bath or whirlpool – the heat helps the muscles to relax and balances body and mind. During a classic sauna session, the alternation between hot and cold also strengthens the immune system, while a walk through the Kneipp pool stimulates the circulation.

No time for breaks

Allowing time for regeneration is very important to give your body the chance to recover. However, if you don’t want to miss out on exercise and sport during the recovery phase, you can do a sports session that works other muscle groups that were not used during the last workout. For example, there is nothing to stop you from doing a few strength exercises for your arms before a cardio session or doing a yoga session the day after an intensive HIIT workout.

Avoiding stress in general is important for optimal regeneration. As we tend to be under a lot of pressure at work and at home these days, we also need to reduce the mental stress factor in order to allow the body to regenerate optimally. This is because stress has a negative impact on the hormonal balance in terms of regeneration. This can lead to fatigue and, in the worst case, to injuries, and a “stressed” body will make little or no progress in training.

My tip: “Arriving” is absolutely the most important thing to reduce stress. For me, arriving includes an extensive warm-up. I mobilize my joints or perform activation exercises for the stabilizing muscles. After that, I’m focused and can concentrate fully on the workout. After training, I enjoy a cool-down. Once a week, this means taking a sauna in the wellness area of the fitness park. Occasionally I also treat myself to a soothing massage, which promotes blood circulation and therefore also helps my muscles to regenerate better. In the regeneration phase after my gym workouts, I like to integrate a yoga session into my daily routine to keep moving. If my muscles need longer to recover optimally after an intensive workout, a meditation session is a good alternative. This allows me to feel my body and find my center again.