Level 2 training courses are divided into training cycles, with 4 to 6 weeks of practices in each stage followed by a week of rest. Each plan may insert a week at a certain point in the schedule, but you may adjust that to your personal need for recovery.
With consideration to many factors in your life and in the demands you have upon your body, it is recommend that you insert a rest week after every 4 to 6 weeks of deliberate, organized training. Some systems of your body and mind may feel just fine, but others may be more fatigued that you realize and some rest would help them recover.
A rest week does not mean ‘Do Nothing’. Rather, it means you should:
- Stay moving, but…
- Lower the total volume of training (lower the number of meters)
- Lower the average intensity of your physical activity – take it easier on the joints, tissues and metabolic system
- Use the body and mind in different but complementary ways to swimming – let the body solve different kinds of puzzles
- Make the activities of this week as enjoyable as possible
The degree to which you follow these recommendations depends on how much rest you may need. It is quite personal consideration.
One way to measure how effective your rest week has been is to notice how eager you feel all over to return to your deliberate practice of swimming. If you’ve rested well, you should feel eager. If you don’t feel eager, then consider how you might need more rest or how you might need to alter your manner of training to make it more inviting.