Question for Vash

[Royal Dragon]

I was perusing your blog and a question came to me.

I was wondering if you plan recovery time, and how do you go about recovery? What about sleep? Do you plan a sleep schedule to coincide with your workouts (IE extra sleep following exceptionally intense training sessions or maintaining a certain number of sleep hours, pre training naps etc...)? Same for your diet. How do you eat? When do you eat certain foods?

[Vash]

I was perusing your blog and a question came to me.

I was wondering if you plan recovery time, and how do you go about recovery?

Yes, I schedule a full week off from weight training every 12 weeks, and from karate every 16 weeks.

Daily stuff, I stretch and do mobility and soft tissue work (foam roller, taped-up golf and tennis balls), and take alternating hot/cold showers (on resistance days) or hot soaks (karate days) three to four times a week.

My ability to recover though, is entirely dependent on my nutrition.

What about sleep? Do you plan a sleep schedule to coincide with your workouts (IE extra sleep following exceptionally intense training sessions or maintaining a certain number of sleep hours, pre training naps etc...)?

Yes. Minimum 7.5 hours, preferred 8 hours nightly. less, I feel drained, more, I feel strung out.

Same for your diet. How do you eat? When do you eat certain foods?

I prepare my meals in advance. I take in around 180-200 grams of protein, 80-100 grams of fat, and less than 100 grams of carbs a day.

I eat my carb-rich meals in the first half of the day, around my workouts. I take in food every 3-4 hours. I also supplement with a few different things. I don't rely on them, but note a BIG difference in my gym/dojo performance, and in my "feeling" day to day.

[Royal Dragon]

Do you use traditional training wines to improve strength and endurance during workouts, speed recovery times, or improve the speed of development?

[Vash]

No, can't say that I do. Never had any, actually.

[Royal Dragon]

I used to nap right before I trained. I would allways have the best workouts when I did that (no time now).

What is strange though, no matter how well I sleep the nite before, I am the worst in the morning. A warmup is literally as hard as my full workout in the late afternoon or evening, but right after a good nap, especially those ultra deep summer ones in the heat when I'd have my hammock between a couple of trees in the park. I'd get up after and be so in the zone!.