Rachel 53 came to me complaining of being tired all the time. She was looking for advice on how to speed up recovery between largely cardio sessions. In addition to a bit of biking she was proud of always getting her 10,000 steps in a day, no matter what. She’d bought and half read Dr Stacey Sim’s ‘Next Level’ book but hadn’t really implemented any changes, other trying to eat a bit more protein. Somehow it can be easier to carry on doing what you have always done rather than make significant changes. It all seemed so overwhelming on her own.

 

I introduced the concept of hard and easy workouts rather than doing everything at more or less the same intensity and the importance of encouraging our fast twitch muscle fibres. The first thing we agreed to trial was cutting back on the volume, so skipping a day of steps and replacing it with a super short hill sprint. Starting with 15seconds and building to 30 seconds with as much rest as needed between these short bursts. It took a few weeks to loose the dread of these sessions but Rachel soon found joy in moving fast for the first time in ages. I think she still considers it type 2 fun but she can see the benefits and it’s great that it take very little time. She’s also finding an unexpected benefit from all the fast feet training, in that she feels more confident and less likely to trip running on difficult terrain. 

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Rachel also started doing 30minute bodyweight strength sessions. Getting stronger is becoming a powerful goal. She now alternates blocks of 6 weeks where there's a primary focus  switching between strength or sprints and incorporates jump rope, Hiit workouts and rebounding sessions. A mix of hard and easy days with less volume, has led to better energy levels and an appetite to train. The niggles in her knees have reduced as she regains lost muscle making kneeling possible again. Maybe playing with future grandchildren will be fun rather than a chore.We have also addressed fuelling for the workouts and refuelling to support muscle synthesis. Her sleep and energy levels have both improved markedly.