FOOTBALL PLAYERS at all levels of competition are training longer and harder than ever before. Multi-sport athletes and elite athletes are sometimes coerced into competing all year and rarely get the chance between seasons to rest.
To coaches and athletes alike, it’s OK to rest, take some time to recharge your batteries and give your training protocol a chance to work.
When working with football athletes, it’s a practice of mine to build some time off in the training protocol. Depending on where we are in our training, that time off could be as little as a week or as much as 4 weeks. This time off is called the
Active Rest Period.Rest Doesn’t Mean Stop
When most players hear the word rest, they tend to think they can stop activity all together. Complete rest would be a negative shock to an athlete’s system. For football players who thrive on high-activity levels, this would be a poor alternative.
Fitness levels may decline depending on how long the athlete remains inactive. You don’t want athletes to remain inactive for too long a period of time.
The main objective of the Active Rest Period is rejuvenation and recovery while maintaining a lowered level of activity. This phase is a break from the organized workouts and practices that are the life of a competitive football player. The Active Rest Period allows the athlete to physically and psychologically overcome the preparation of training and competing.
When Active Rest Is Needed
In our training protocol, we look at the Active Rest Period as the beginning of our training year, as well as the end to the previous year’s training period. It helps to create a smooth transition from one phase to another.
Your players can prepare for this next phase and not go through “withdrawal” from being totally active to doing nothing at all.
Active Rest Activities
Finding a balance in the choice of activities that will maintain athletic conditioning, yet still allow the body a chance to recover, can be a challenge. Athletes who compete in high-impact, collision sports like football should perform exercise moves that contain little to no impact. One of my favorite things is to do speed, agility and quickness work in a swimming pool.
Players like it, there is little stress on the joints and — more importantly — it’s fun. Other activities can include hiking, biking, stretching and swimming.