First things first - rest. Non-negotiable. Athletes need it. Bodies are tired, brains are tired, everyone’s a bit over it by the end of a season. So yes, sleep in, go on holidays, don’t think about your routine for a minute. That part is good.
But what we’re not doing is disappearing for 2-3 weeks and coming back like “why does everything feel so hard??”
Because… obviously.
What usually happens is athletes rest (great), but then everything drops with it. Strength goes, flexibility tightens, control disappears. Then first session back is just everyone struggling through basics they had a few weeks ago. It’s painful for everyone involved.
So the goal isn’t to train hard all holidays. It’s just to not lose everything you already built.
Strength and flexibility are the big ones. You don’t need a full session, you don’t need a program that takes an hour, you don’t need equipment. But you do need to keep ticking them over. Because those are the slowest things to rebuild once they’re gone, and they’re the reason skills either feel easy… or suddenly feel impossible.
And this is where people get stuck, because not everyone can make holiday clinics. Some gyms don’t run them, some athletes are away, some families just want a break (fair). So if the only option is “come into the gym or do nothing,” most athletes end up doing nothing.
There’s a middle ground.
Holiday training should be simple. Like, really simple. Something athletes can do at home, in a hotel room, at grandma’s house, wherever they’ve been dragged for the holidays. No setup, no overthinking, just a quick way to keep their body switched on.
We’re talking 5-10 minutes here and there. Enough to maintain, not enough to feel like training has taken over your life again.
Because the difference when athletes do this is huge. They come back still strong, still flexible, still in control. Not perfect, but ready. And that first session back actually moves forward instead of backwards.
That’s the whole point.
Rest, yes. Completely fall apart, no.