“You can’t build a base if you are injured or sick it’s that simple”
It’s always great to nail that next session, hit those high-end zones, smash a park run PB, get a new pace you can be proud of in the swim, bike, or run and or have the ability to change to another gear on race day when you need to level up.
Where does it all start though?
Training in the proper zones is crucial this time of year, steering more toward an aerobic base, strength work and better rest and recovery and ace nutrition daily is what should be a real focus for you in the winter months as an endurance athlete.
You can’t build a base if you’re injured or sick it’s that simple. So I’ve listed below six simple strategies to help you stay injury free over winter and refueled and ready for bigger training days.
- Spend a good 70% of your training every week in zone 1 or 2? Why? Because there is a lot of truth to the saying, 3 months to make it, 3 weeks to break it. You are balancing 3 sports collectively on a weekly basis, a family, a full-time job, and possibly some other side hustle to keep you afloat financially, so yes it is ok to slow down in most of your training operating at a perceived effort of 120-150bpm, yes it’s important to get over 120bpm heart rate, but unless you have some focused FTP test on the bike, 400m time trial in the pools or have a specific threshold set to hit in swim, bike or run, you should spend the rest of your time building a stronger, more balanced aerobic system and you achieve this by slowing down in your training, not speeding up.
- Know your key sessions for the week and space them accordingly, you don’t do 3 threshold sessions in a day, each discipline requires a bit of speed work or hr over 160-65bpm once a week but overall it should only be a maximum of 20% in your total training for the week. Ideally hit a harder swim Tuesday, a tempo run Wednesday, and a harder hill reps-based cycle session when time permits on a Saturday when u don’t need to rush off to work during the week, hit the bigger bikes on the weekend.
Side view of young athlete resting on pier and drinking water after rowing training
- Plan a rest day for every week, at the very minimum a light swim or stretching session up to 30mins, or a complete day off of training and work once a week is gold, even better have 1 full day off and regularly practice a half rest day every week. Good athletes win their medals in training sessions, and great athletes master the art of rest, recovery, and mindfulness and love to taper before events because they see the value in detraining to get to optimal race day status.
- Establish a great daily routine, the morning routine is key, hydration of 1Litre b4 exercise in the am, cold water therapy to engage the sympathetic nervous system, making your bed, journaling your daily thoughts, and planning with your end goals and values in mind with a vision you can be proud of to leave a legacy for those who love you and value your leadership in their lives.
- Have a coffee, and experience a little bit of reward daily, whether that be a bath before bed, a coffee before work, or a cuddle from your kids, practice gratitude daily by saying to yourself three things you are truly grateful for daily and make sure you smile as you say these things to yourself. It’s great to have strong work ethic, but it’s very important to be happy about it also, daily.
Healthy eating. Close up of young man in casual wear cutting vegetables while standing in the kitchen at home
- Eat real food, prepare your own lunchbox daily for work, avoid takeaways, packaged snacks, or drinks, and get your food out of the ground, off the farm, out of the water, over any highly packaged or processed bag.
Ask yourself how many processes your food has gone through before you eat it, if its more than three processes, it’s probably pretty low in nutrient value to get you through the day.
I hope these help, as you mold, grow, and establish a new routine in winter that you can stick to getting you through to an even better summer😊