By Hammer Nutrition
For many athletes, the competitive season is drawing to a close and if you're like me, it's a bittersweet time of year. I look forward to the break from training five days a week, but I know I will soon be missing the bike and long rides. I enjoy cycling so much during the summer and pretty much go "full throttle" to maximize the limited summer days we have here in Montana, so much so that many of my other interests and responsibilities get pushed to the back burner so I can spend more time on the bike.
While most of us can enjoy the next few months' sabbatical from training, we don't want to lose all of our hard-earned fitness. I will surely be staying active to maintain some of that fitness, and Electromuscular Stimulation (EMS) is one of the greatest assets during this time of year to accomplish that. The off-season allows more time to devote to EMS training since I don't have a high-training volume in the outdoors to consume all of my time.
Weight training: For athletes who weight train in their off-season, Compex Strength and Explosive Strength programs can replace the max-strength lifting you would normally do in the gym. EMS can help prevent injury as it will only tax the muscles, not joints or connective tissue like heavy lifting would. EMS strength training is an excellent complement to weight training and off-season training. You can use one of the Compex workout programs to add volume to your training day.
Cardio and endurance maintenance: If you do a cardio workout at the gym and want to maximize it, the Endurance program will add significant volume to your training that day. Also, continue using Active Recovery often, which will not stress or fatigue muscles but will help maintain muscle responsiveness that you developed using the workout programs. EMS helps keep everything loose and injury-free.
Recovery from race season overuse and injury: If you've developed an overuse injury or injured yourself in a crash during the summer months, off-season is the perfect time to focus on a full recovery, and the Active Recovery program on Compex is one of the best things you can do to expedite recovery. You can't overuse the Active Recovery program. Running it daily or even multiple times the same day if you have the time will help expedite recovery and prep you for next season. You'll want to run the Active Recovery on the muscles surrounding your injury, which will increase blood flow to keep fresh blood and nutrients in the area for healing.
With EMS as your ally heading into the winter months, you can keep the majority of your fitness gained from long summer days of high-volume training.
Note: Don't forget your Tissue Rejuvenator and EndurOmega! These are both really great supplements for joint and connective tissue health and both have powerful anti-inflammatory benefits to help as you heal from your injuries. HN
