👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #71 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
🧘♂️ 2:1 recovery ratio
I consider Dr Andy Galpin one of the most trusted minds in the sports performance world.
He runs a lab out of California State University, Fullerton. And works with an impressive range of world-class athletes from the NFL to Olympic Gold medalists.
Galpin has one non-negotiable with his athletes. He reckons that for optimal performance, we want a 2:1 ratio of training to recovery.
So if you’re running, swimming, lifting, playing sport, or whatever you do for 10 hours a week, you want to spend 5 hours a week doing recovery activities.
These could be:
- 🤸♂️ Stretching
- 💨 Down-regulation breathing
- 🚶♂️ Walking (blood flow)
- 🥎 Triggering, rolling, massage
- 🔥 Sauna
- 😴 Naps
- 🧘♂️ Yoga
- 🌊 Getting in the ocean
The 2:1 ratio is probably a bit unrealistic for the everyday athlete. Galpin works with pros. It’s literally their job to train and recover.
But it’s a rough yardstick.
- Take stock of your training hours.
- Take stock of your recovery hours.
- Work out your ratio.
I'd guess most everyday athletes are closer to 2:0. So even bookending training with 5-10 minutes of that stuff will go a long way.
It’s the time of year we’re booking triathlons, half-marathons, marathons, ocean swims, hikes, renewing our gym memberships and planning out the year.
So if we wanna be able to train for these events, stay injury-free, recover faster, live in less pain, and have more energy for life, we’ve gotta get our recovery ratio up.
📖 Programs from The World's Fittest Book
The World’s Fittest Book has day-by-day triathlon and marathon programs written by the sport and exercise scientist who’s:
- 🏊♂️ Swam around Great Britain
- 🚴♂️ Done a triathlon carrying a tree
- 🏃♂️ Pulled a 1.4 tonne car 42.2km
Great if you need direction for any events you’re chasing in 2024.
For ocean swim programs, check out another of his books Blueprint.
📱 How not to warm up
Scientists looked at the impact of social media use before strength training.
They found that 30 minutes of scrolling can lead to a 29% drop in training performance.
Wild.
The reason was mental fatigue. It drains our self-confidence and mental energy.
Keep the screens away before hooking in.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service and is not a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information given in this email is general in nature, written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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