Training is a large part of lots of peoples’ lives which has been shown to be great for both our physical and mental wellbeing. Injury has a real detrimental effect on this and one of the things I seem to be treating increasingly in the clinic, is problems related to people making significant spikes in how much loading or intensity they do… leading to breakdown.
I have seen a big rise in tendinopathy related pain (e.g. Achilles tendon pain) where people have spiked loading, over such a period that there is no “adaptation time” for our body to become resilient to this. If we give the body the chance, it will become resilient. But adaptation takes time and can’t be rushed. If there is no sudden event leading to pain, tendon related pain actually NEEDS to be loaded but at the optimal level to create an appropriate stimulus for adaptation and pain modulation.
Whatever your goal, whether it be training for a 10k, half marathon, marathon, ultra race or hyrox, HAVE A PLAN well in advance! Don’t just expect to reach your goal in a few weeks. Some of these goals require many months of planning, with gradual increases of somewhere around 10-15% weekly.
When I assess people and we discuss their history leading up to their problem, they are often shocked at their own rapid changes in volume or intensity leading to the Physio consultation. Another common story relates to people removing recovery days or rest days. These are crucial to development and adaptation, shouldn’t be missed – no matter what level you participate at.
Think of your training like building a house. You need to increase the effort gradually so your body can adapt and get stronger—this keeps you safe from injury.
The key concept comes from research by Tim Gabbett, who looked at two types of training effort (or “load”):
- Your Recent Effort (Acute Load): How hard you trained last week.
- Your Fitness Base (Chronic Load): How hard you’ve trained over the last month or so (this is your current fitness level).
He found there’s a “Sweet Zone” where you get fitter without getting hurt. This zone means your recent training load is gradually increasing, but only slightly more than your existing fitness base.
The “Danger Zone” is when you see a big, sudden jump (“spike”) in your training effort last week compared to what you’ve been doing for the last month. This “too much, too soon” approach often makes injury much more likely.
As a general rule, to stay safe and progress well, the effort you put in this week should ideally be only 80% to 130% (0.8 to 1.3 times) of your average effort from the last month. Remember, this is just a guiding principle—proper sleep, nutrition, and hydration are just as crucial for successful training!
Some of the take home messages are:
- Train consistently to BUILD chronic workload to increase tolerance in the body
- Have a plan and follow it- dependent on your goals
- Don’t skip a rest day- it’s a crucial opportunity for your body to recover.
Dave Williams is a Consultant Physio at our Wilmslow clinic and you can book in with him here or find out more about Dave here.