You know the feeling…you get out of bed in the morning after a good night’s sleep feeling listless, unfocused, with no pep to tackle the day, let alone a vigorous bout of exercise. It’s easy for those of us who train seriously or anyone who exercises 5-6 days per week to experience significant and often continuous fatigue – a sure sign of overtraining and inadequate rest, and a call to re-examine the training plan.

I use a progressive plan, building total volume (exercise duration, frequency, and intensity) for three weeks and then incorporate an active rest week, cutting my training volume by at least 50%. This allows for physiological adaptation before applying additional stress (increased workload).

I have found as I have gotten older I require more rest and that I sometimes have to alter my training cycle to a two week build followed by the week of active recovery. It is also important to take at least one full day off from training per week and if necessary build in a second rest day or active recovery day. An afternoon power nap may aid recovery also.