Hocevar Performance

Last post we focused on explaining what deloading is, how important it is and showing some ways how you can incorporate it into your program. This time I’ll talk about deloading more than just training, but using it in life. If you haven’t read part I, you can read it here.

Just like training, we tend to get out of balance and either do too little or too much when it comes to work, relationships, etc. I will touch on the one thing that most people in America including myself don’t do enough of - rest and relax. I don’t even want to go into the statistics about how much vacation people take (and how much they do not use?! crazy) on average, how many hours they work, etc. Sound like you?

Not taking time out to deload will cause burn out, frustration and stress, which then  leads to being unmotivated where there is no way you can perform to your abilities at work or at home. It starts a vicious cycle, as you feel you need to do more but the effort you are putting in is just crappy and you really end up accomplishing less.

I can’t answer what your deload will be and what it is you need to relax your body, mind and soul (I just had to say it) to where you can return full of energy and have the rebound effect, giving your family, your career or anything else on the list your best, focused effort. The great thing is that you can start with using small deloads during the day and get a lot out of them. For me this is just relaxing on the sofa and reading a good book or taking a walk by the lake. It doesn’t count if your mind is stresing about other things though! For some, a workout may be a deload from a long day at work, where you had to deal with a whole bunch of bullshit and you could finnaly take it out on the iron.

Some of the ways I relax and deload….

                             In Jamaica                                                    This is relaxing to me believe it or not

                     Bled Castle  w/ my wife                                             With friends at Soca River

A weekly or monthy deload may be a short trip with your family or friends, where you turn of your Crackberry and shut out everything but the people that you are with. Sometimes just leaving your home and staying at a hotel will give you the relaxed feeling that will help you rebound and get your creative huices flowing while giving you the boost to really attack your goals.

At least a couple of times a year you should take a real vacation and go somewhere for at least a week. Or maybe travelling is not your thing and you want to just stay at home and do something that you’ve been looking forward to for a long time. Whatever does it for you. I always find that getting away gives you better clarity and gets you away from the things that cause much of the stress in the first place(no, I don’t mean your wife).  Now, before I get the excuses of how you just can’t do it  because of time, money, yada, yada, yada. Fine, then don’t do it and keep banging your head against the wall at the end of eac day. Whatever you have been doing hasn’t worked so try something new that actually makes sense….

This definitely counted as a deload

I am far from perfect when it comes to deloading in training or life but I am making a conscious decision to change that by doing things such as scheduling and paying for seminars/conferences, vacations and weekend getaways ahead of time so that they are set in stone and I can look forward to relaxing. This will do two things, it will make me work harder as I know I have to get certain things done by the time I leave, and I will come back refreshed with new ideas, energy and motivation to push towards my goals.

It’s kind of like interval training, go as hard as you can for a certain period of time, rest and repeat. You will get better results in less time. I’ll take working harder for a shorter amount of time so that I can relax rather than dragging myself along slowly without any breaks. Which do you prefer?

What are some of the things that you do to deload from things in your life?