When Is the Off-Season?

At times lately, I find myself envying athletes who play sports which have a season and an off-season. To be sure, I understand that lots of hard work (perhaps the hardest work) occurs in the off-season. So what I think that I am really envious of is the kind of variation between in-season and off-season work, as well as the sense of excitement and build-up toward in-season performance.

Currently, my training does not work this way - there is no off-season. And, for what I do, this is likely the correct approach. In Kung Fu, there is a saying: if you don’t practice your Kung Fu for one day, you know; if you don’t practice your Kung Fu for two days, your teacher knows; if you don’t practice your Kung Fu for three days, the whole world knows. This is true. The execution of Kung Fu movements requires constant repetition to ingrain – and most importantly keep ingrained – the neural connection between what you want your body to do and what it should execute barely a split-second later. Layered on top of this is trying to remember forms, which requires consistent attention. In other words, you lose a lot of ground fast if you stop practicing certain movements even briefly.

Yoga is similar in that whatever gains you have made in a pose in terms of flexibility and/or balance will often degrade rapidly if you stop doing that pose regularly. So too in aerials, where coordination skills are at a premium. If you have not done an aerial skill in a while, you will likely need to teach yourself how to do it safely again, and then work hard toward making it as smooth to execute as it may have once been. Even the most basic aerials skills and conditioning evaporate quickly, such as the strength for basic climbs on the silks, stamina in gripping the apparatus, and the tolerance for the discomfort inherent in many aerial moves. Crossfit is a little different, since the seasons dictate more or less running, sled-work, or other outdoor activities to a certain extent. But still the basics, such as pull-ups, push-ups, and lifting of all kinds, must be done consistently to avoid regress.

It is interesting to me in a way that I have tended to gravitate to activities which require such constant attention and cultivation. It’s not a bad thing at all and, to give myself some credit, speaks to a mind-set of adequate discipline and focus. Still, I think it may be possible to develop a kind of seasonal cycle in all these activities where I focus more deeply for several months on certain skills, while maintaining a core set of basics to prevent overall slippage. It’s just a thought at this point, something I need to develop more fully.