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Tip of the Week

December 3, 2007

REST:  THE OVERLOOKED TRAINING COMPONENT

            Rest is unquestionably one of the most important training principles, and yet, the principle that many young wrestlers fail to fully appreciate.  Given the intense training demands required in order to excel in wrestling, the principle of rest becomes paramount for young wrestlers, parents, wrestling coaches and strength specialists to understand.

            Ask the champions and they’ll tell you that very hard training and conditioning must be balanced with rest and recovery.  Your time of rest is equally as important as all of the intense, all-out training sessions. 

            It’s important for you to understand that training doesn’t just tax the muscular system; daily intense training also places a tremendous strain on our nervous system.  You can feel completely recovered with your muscles by utilizing pre-practice dynamic warm-up and post-practice static stretching.  You can also perform “soft tissue” work, pre or post-practice, with a biofoam roller.  This popular recovery method is termed “self-myofascial release”.

            However, it’s our nervous system recovery that’s most important for consistent performance improvements.  You can kid yourself all you want.  If you’re not getting eight hours of good sleep then you’re cheating yourself!   You can’t make up sleep deprivation and without sufficient rest, you’ll never allow your nervous system adequate recuperative time.

            The “principle of rest/recovery” is why good wrestling coaches resist the urge to go all-out everyday in practice.  Most experienced coaches will go very hard for two days and back off slightly on the third day.  The third day is a “recovery day”, whereby a lot of technique work is being done and the drills and live wrestling are performed at a less intense pace.

            Even the most motivated wrestler will need time to recover from back-to-back intense practices.  Over the years, I witnessed far too many coaches and parents “burn-out” their kids due to never allowing enough rest and recovery.  This rest is especially important as you get into the latter stages of the season and sectional tournaments are imminent.

            Wrestlers, make every effort to get eight to nine hours of sleep every night.  You should also attempt as much as possible, to go to bed during the weekend around the same time as you do during the school week.  Your sleep mechanisms will operate at a more functional level and you’ll feel more rested.

Remember, it’s all of the little things that become major influences on how you ultimately perform on the mat.  It’s definitely a challenge to get adequate sleep every evening given the amount of time devoted to practices, matches and academic responsibilities.  It takes discipline and desire!

Think like a champion and make sleep a priority this season.  Your level of intensity during practices day-in and day-out as well as your match performances will ultimately reflect the amount of rest and recovery you’re getting throughout the week! 

REST AND RECOVERY IS AS IMPORTANT AS HOW HARD YOU TRAIN

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