It’s the week after your competition, you feel pretty good and not too beat up from your show, so you decide to get back into the gym. But when you get there, weights that should feel light are moving like molasses. It doesn’t make sense, because you’re not even very sore.
If you really think about it, on the day of a strongman show, you probably did no more than five minutes of heavy lifting. That said, during those five minutes, you went really hard, maybe hit some new maxes, and pushed yourself to your limits. Thus, after a competition, your body might feel pretty good. If you trained well and didn’t get hurt, you’re probably not excessively sore, and maybe you’re ready to get back in the gym. However, your central nervous system is probably pretty fatigued from the general overload of the day.
The main way to recover from this is to give yourself a bit of recovery. If you’re following programming with a coach at PPG, you probably have this week as a kind of light “screw about” week. It might be a little less structured, and maybe it’s lighter or lower overall volume. When you’re in a competition prep block, often, your training is very focused around competition specific movements, so this is a great time to play with some variations you haven’t seen in a while.
It’s also important to get enough sleep after you compete. Sleep is how everything in your body recovers, from muscles to soft tissue to your nervous system. Whatever works to get you the most quality sleep that you can, do that. Whether it’s naps, going to bed earlier, sleeping a little later. Sleep is always important to your health, recovery, and wellbeing, but after a competition, it’s especially important to get some shut-eye!
You might experience a bit of post-comp blues, and sometimes signing up for the next thing can help to keep your motivation up. That being said, give yourself enough time between shows to recover, train, and allow some time for an off season. Competing with just a couple weeks between shows really takes a toll on your body, and doesn’t set you up to perform at your best. A good coach should be able to help you navigate this. Competing is fun, but you can’t do every comp that comes across your radar. Spectate at some of them, or come out and volunteer.
Post-comp is also a great time to consider getting some bodywork done if that’s something you find helpful. Massage or soft tissue work can be great ways to let your body recover before whatever is next.
Competing should be a challenging, fun, exciting, and hopefully exhausting experience. It’s so important to your longevity in this sport (and in your life) to give yourself adequate recovery time.
