How to keep motivated through the winter months - Top 10 tips from TriRox training
Motivation low? Covid restrictions taking its toll? The dark nights not helping? Finding it a little easier to sit on the sofa to watch ‘I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!’ Rather than go out and run, bike or swim?
It isn’t surprising that, once the race season is over, and the dark nights start rolling in and the cold, wet weather becomes more frequent, that you are put off training and decide to skip a session or two. Two missed training sessions suddenly become a month or worse, 6 months! Next you know you are on the start line to the AAH Harlech Triathlon saying to yourself, time to get fit!
You are not going to find your lost mojo sitting on the sofa!
Do you want the best season of your life, one where you start it fit, where you can do your best times? Where you actually achieve that goal you set 5 years ago??
Motivation does not just happen. These people who get out of bed in the morning and do a two hour training session before they start work aren’t lucky because they are just ‘motivated’. It doesn’t happen like that. Motivation comes through action, repeated action. You have to get up and do in order for that motivation to be stirred, you have to repeat this behaviour in order for the pit in your belly to fire up! YOU have to make it happen!
So, get off the sofa! The Squad at TRT have kindly collated top 10 tips to help keep YOU motivated through the winter months…
- Get a coach - I know that this may sound a little bias, being a coach and all, but a coach can help to plan your time smartly, periodise your training so that you do arrive at your next race, ready to race and the fittest you have ever been, PLUS they can help motivate you through these tough times.
- Review your previous year and write new GOALS. What worked well, what didn’t go to plan? What can you improve on this year? What do you want to achieve next year? Which races do you want to enter? Make your goals SMART.
- Find a training buddy - there is nothing more motivating than having to be somewhere with someone and not wanting to let them down. Peer pressure, call it what you will, this will help you act.
- Get involved with a local club or join a group challenge - having others to encourage you and support you will give you the boost you need.
- Get out and have fun! For triathletes, this time of the year is called the ‘off-season’ and now is the time to do something different whilst still keeping you fit. Get off road, take a fitness class or learn a new skill. Taking time out from run, bike or swim now will refresh your enthusiasm for the sport you love but will also keep you fit.
- Focus on strength building - this doesn’t have to be in the gym pushing plates, although a good idea to work on this at this time of the year. It can also be running, walking or riding in the hills…go explore those mountains (safely), if you don’t have this in your locality, a weekend training camp in North Wales maybe what you need!
- Buy something new! I know this could be expensive but it doesn’t have to be! A new pair of running gloves or a new swim suit! Obviously, a new bike would go down a treat too! It sounds crazy, but you get a new bit of kit and you want to try it out!
- Enter a race - there is nothing quite like a kick up the backside than a race in the calendar!
- Train indoors - with the current climate the way it is, indoor training has boomed. There are many different platforms in which you can ride or run indoors. We use Zwift - a virtual world for cyclists and runners. Here you can just ride, with other people, or you can do structured training sessions, there are various plans you can follow OR even races to see how you compare to others. You do need a bit of kit for this, for example a turbo trainer and a cadence sensor is the least you need to be able to ride in the virtual world.
- Consistency - it can take a number of hours, days or even months for something to become a habit, but the more consistent you are, the more likely your actions will become ingrained . Once you have trained consistently for a a couple of weeks, you will feel a difference. You will see the benefits, the feeling of fitness returning, your motivation will grow because you will be getting results. Once you have got to this magical place, don’t forget the little things you did in order to get there.