I've been around a few athletes that get afforded the opportunity to cut back on life stress either by working less or a new position that gives a lot more freedom in terms of time. To a tee, most end up producing less then the results they did when they were working full time.
The thinking goes that if I work less I can train more and get better results. They look at some sponsored athletes that don't have to do the 9-5/5days a week and think they can produce similar results if they get rid of the 40 hour work week.
It usually doesn't happen.
Here is the thing. You find the time to train. You get done what needs to get done. This then is the trap with more time on your hands. You train more. More doesn't equal better. You are adding to your training stress.
Pro's recover. Amateurs train "harder."
I first noticed this when I'd go and live at an Olympic Training center in my days with bobsled. You would literally be so bored that you would wander to the weight room and start lifting. Instead of combining your lift with your sprint session in an hour 45 min, you would create 2 training sessions just to brake up the monotony of the day.
Some people can't handle the "free time." They feel the need to be doing more. When they don't, they feel the stress of inactivity. They don't really understand or appreciate recovery. They give it word of mouth, but if pressed, deep down they don't believe in it.
So they fit more training sessions in.
Instead, they should be getting 9-10 hours of sleep per night. They should be getting 30-90 minute nap in every day. They should be food prepping so every meal is nutritionally sound. They should be doing mobility and recovery work.
This is done so that those workouts they were already doing are carried out to the maximal. They create optimization. This is how you get better results.
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