Should I train at this time of uncertainty?
Coach Diogo gives us some sound reasoning as to why training is still a good option at this moment in time. Read on to see his list of why you shouldn’t abandon training.
Uncertain times arrived in our lives, and no one knows what to expect from the future. COVID-19 has changed the world and has changed our lives and our routines, a lot of races have been cancelled or postponed, and the fact we don’t know if our race will happen is making all athletes and coaches question the purpose behind their training!
As an athlete, the first thing you need to ask yourself is why you do this sport, and I believe racing is not your first answer. A lot of athletes love racing; others love training. Still, all athletes have something in common: the passion for this sport and their health. This is what motivates them to train day after day no matter what, and that’s what you should keep in mind, racing is not the main reason for doing this, we know it’s fun and exciting but if this sport has taught us something is the love people have for it, is what keeps them overcoming their limits.
When athletes ask me if they should keep training during this uncertain period, my answer is a big YES (with some caveats) and here is why:
A lot of us stuck in our homes, and we are not allowed to go out for training but in winter time, was that a reason that stopped you from training? No, right? You kept training even knowing you couldn’t go outside for environmental reasons, so why should you stop doing it now? Yes, we need to adapt and specifically reduce cardiovascular, respiratory and system wide stress to ensure you remain healthy. However, there is no reason to do nothing!
The right training schedule will keep you distracted from the madness we’re living in now, it will keep your body healthy and it will break the routine of staying at home working and looking at all the news about COVID-19. Furthermore, if you’re sharing your life with someone, it’s a good time to do workouts together, it will make your quarantine easier to thrive and certainly more fun.
You may ask why should you keep training when you don’t know if your race will happen and my answer is, what if it happens? Don’t you want to be fit to do it? I bet you want it, so why would you stop training then? If your race has been postponed, don’t you want to be as ready as possible for it? There are a lot of workouts you can do at home that will keep your body strong enough for your race, and it will keep you motivated to keep going. Still, one thing you need to keep in mind, your training must not be the same you were doing before, there will be a loss of fitness and coaches are more concern about your health than your performance so don’t stress about it, focus on having fun training and keep your body healthy and strong.
This will be a good time for you to work on your ‘limiters’: completing those S&C workouts you were always avoiding. Finish this block a better athlete than the one who went into it. Our team of coaches knows exactly what you can do to help you during this period, so don’t forget to check our social media pages to see what sessions we have prepared for you. Also, if you’re recovering from an old injury maybe you now have a good opportunity to recover from it properly.
Remember, keep yourself safe and healthy, for your own good and for the others.
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Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.
The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.