There are those times in the year, especially with good plan and program design, when we have a peak season. This is when major workouts get crushed and A-level goals get smashed.
Training is always important, and it takes on different strokes for us different folks, but the real outcomes in performance get optimized when nutrition and recovery are emphasized.
High performance phases are the times when that pre-intra-post fueling becomes of paramount importance. Same goes for the meal planning procedures.
It’s a great idea to mostly be in maintenance gear with calories during peak performance periods. You neither want too little nor too much. Back to Goldilocks with caloric consumption.
But it’s recovery that becomes the changemaker or dealbreaker. Freshness trumps fitness. Conditioning is important of course, but you’ll always perform better when you show up 90% fit and 100% fresh versus the other way around. This is where the sleep and lifestyle factors really, really matter. It’s hard to stay super focused on all the peak performance elements year round, but it’s doable for a few weeks here and there. This is why it’s called peak performance. You rise up and conquer, then retreat before doing it again.
Lastly, there’s mindset. Trust your training. Trust your talent. Show up on the day and believe. Execute. You’re ready.