Open vs. Closed Body
I’m stuck in a closed body. I heard the term for the first time during a talk by Petter Engdahl.
He talked about his training principles. One of the topics he touched on was that he tries to be very aware if he’s in an open or a closed body.
What does it mean to have a closed body? And why wasn’t I able to detect that I’m stuck in one lately?
Let’s find out.
Self-Awareness
The principle is actually simple. A closed body indicates that you’re not able to absorb the training you are doing.
You probably know the feeling. You feel empty, tired, and maybe even emotionally unbalanced. All indications that you are currently in a closed body.
I loved Petter’s self-awareness for detecting when he is in a closed body. He mentioned he gets very emotional. He easily starts crying. Not something you hear from elite athletes often. I found it beautiful. It shows how well he knows himself. How he is in line with who he is.
When he realises he is stuck in a closed body he knows that he needs to switch up his training. Recovery instead of hard intervals.
Obviously, on the other side, an open body indicates exactly the opposite. Your body is primed to absorb the training that you throw at it. Your energy level is good, your mind is there, you sleep well and so on.
At some point, you will drift from an open to a closed body. Catching this moment is important and needs a lot of self-awareness.
Before I jump into how to get better at realising you are moving into a closed body state I want to highlight what happens if you don’t.
Me → Ignoring Signals
This year was going great. I made smart decisions regarding my training. My progress was steady and I felt stronger every week.
Since my race in Innsbruck in early May, I’ve been stuck in a closed body.
I realised it.
I ignored it.
I’m now paying for it.
Indicator 1: Loss Of Consistency
Since Innsbruck, I was plagued with smaller and bigger niggles. My hip flexor was acting up. Up until then, I ran a long run (nearly) every weekend of this year. I was feeling great. Having fun.
Suddenly those niggles started to interrupt my consistency.
I took a step back and reduced the volume but never stopped running completely.
My body was not able to do what it did the months before. A clear sign I should have taken a step back.
Indicator 2: General Fatigue
During this time fatigue was creeping in. I even mentioned it to a friend during our long runs several times. I didn’t feel like myself.
Did I change anything drastically based on this observation? No. Why not?
I was already reducing volume because of my niggles. I was expecting that this would be enough. I was wrong.
Indicator 3: The Niggles Stayed
My body usually recovers from injuries very well. I also have a good idea of what I can run through and what not. Those niggles were not full-stop material. They were in the you-kinda-can-continue-to-run-but-it’s-probably-prolonging-recovery territory.
I was fine with that, but the niggles stayed. Even under the mentioned reduced volume.
Indicator 4: Sleep Quality
During the whole time, I felt my sleep quality wasn’t up to where it normally is. My sleeping schedule slipped a bit during that time. A loss of my sleep schedule often has a major impact on the rest of my day. Getting to bed too late means I’m tired in the morning. Being tired in the morning means I sleep in. Sleeping in means I skip necessary mobility work for recovery (and prehab when I’m not injured).
The Pay Check
It took five weeks. Five weeks of nearly no workouts. No real structure. No plan. A long phase where you can make a lot of progress. I haven’t.
Entering week six the (now looking back at it) inevitable happened.
I got sick.
Full stop. No half-assed running anymore. The body takes its breaks if you don’t give it.
I was moving with a closed body for way too long. I ignored the indicators.
It was my ego in the end that got me into this. It’s hard to admit.
My ego wanted the consistency of the year to continue. I was convincing myself that I could continue the way I do. I was ignoring the long-term vision, of running healthy, for neglectable short-term gains. I was stuck too much in the present moment.
What I got was a phase of six weeks of inconsistency, no workouts and declining fitness. It’s not the end of the world. It’s a learning experience for me. One that you can learn from, too.
Define Your Closed Body
Now to the actionable part.
It’s easy. Create a list of your indicators for a closed body.
Bad Sleep?
Complaining about feeling tired for the third day in a row?
A pain that normally resides way faster?
Mood shifts?
Many things could indicate a closed body. It helps to look at past experiences where you couldn’t stay consistent. Where you slipped off your golden path. What were the reasons? What did you feel? How did you behave? What were you longing for?
Try to boil it down to a few bigger points that you can check against regularly.
You don’t have to go into a full recovery week just because of one bad night of sleep. Three consecutive nights on the other hand tell you something else.
Staying Consistent
Consistency is the most important factor in getting better at whatever you do.
Being aware of when you leave an open body is important for consistency. The body and the mind need rest from time to time. There is a reason professional runners take a break after a long season. Training for a goal each and every day is mentally and physically taxing.
Getting signals from a closed body is a blessing. It helps you stay consistent. Maximise the open-body phases and celebrate the closed ones. The better you get at being aware of a closed body the faster you can act and move into an open one!
Having a clear understanding of what indicates a closed body for you is already a great step to raising the necessary self-awareness.
I hope you can catch your next closed body phase earlier than me!
Until next time.