Definition and assessment of Recovery

11)  Can you provide the definition of “Recovery”, specifically as used in GST?

22)  Can you provide criteria, tips or tests to assess level of recovery (ie low, medium, high) in order to determine optimal number of strength training days per week?

(     *Prior to GST my husband and I were working out 7 days a week -no deload week- with 2 of them being “active recovery” days of yoga and pilates. We were sore all the time, but just worked through it. So the idea of recovery is kind of a foreign concept to us.

33)  I read some posts on the forum recommending taking a complete 1 week off for rest/recovery a few times a year. Can a coach comment on this – specifically if this is needed and how to determine how often (i.e. I imagine it would be different for our teenage athletes vs us 50 year old parents).

T  Thank you!!!

    Monica Stettler Brozny (& family)

HI Monica what you are referring to it is a bit complex to define. it is base on sensation and energy level. for example:

-do you feel yourself tired like low energy level?

-do you feel yourself sore in some muscles or with doms?

Basically it difficult to define specific parameters, some good suggestions say that X number of days in between sessions are fine for a full recovery. 

probably only with deep cell exams we can have a clear point of view on energy store, RNA trascription about muscles cell component, RNA transcription of connective tissue cell components and so on.

If you can show better performance from session to session you had a good recovery.

On Foundations we have a full recovery every 3 months, so basically we have 4 weeks total in a year. After training under GST method for 6 years I used to rest completely 2-3 days in a year.

Thanks, Alessandro. I wasn't looking for something super technical/medical or for someone to tell me how many days. I just wanted some simple guidelines/questions similar to the 3 you offered in order to help better understand what is meant by recovery and how to self diagnose optimal recovery time. I am so used to powering through all kinds of pain, this is new to think about. I am also trying to manage the training schedules for all 4 family members doing GST in our household. So, being able to ask my husband and kids the right recovery questions will help determine how many days they should be training as well.

Do we need to wait until soreness is completely gone before training another session? Are there any other factors to consider other than soreness, energy level and increasing/decreasing performance?

What are "doms"?

Thanks for the info on taking a full week off, no training, every 3 months. I didn't see that in the Introduction information on the website.

I didn't quite understand your last sentence.....so, did you used to take a full week off for recovery every 3 months, but now, after 6 years, you only need to take 2-3 days off a year?

Thanks so much for your help! I appreciate it!

Monica Stettler Brozny

Hi Monica,

Alex is discussing more advanced recovery protocols which are not pertinent at your current level of GST.

Deload or recovery weeks are automatically built into the Foundation programming for you every 4th week.  Thus 3 weeks of full intensity work followed by a week of reduced load training.

Yours in Fitness,

Coach Sommer

Thank you so much for the clarification, Coach Sommer! I appreciate it!

And to circle back regarding self assessing ones' recovery in order to determine whether to do strength training 3, 4 or 5 days a week....should muscle soreness be completely gone before the next training day, or is training with some muscle soreness ok?

Thank you so much! I am grateful for the help!

Monica

For you as beginner with GTS, let them go away completely.

Got it! Thanks so much!!!!!

Monica