Endurance athletes around this time of year are starting to train and build up for what lies ahead in the new year. What that is varies from person to person. The New Year's Resolutions all come with a lot of promise and grandiose ideas of success, but are fraught with peril before the new year arrives due to the chaos of the holidays. I have always found this can be the hardest time to get an athlete to focus the entire year because some get lots of time off from work and want to do everything when they are not ready for it, while others don't have enough time to do much of anything other than their outside priorities in life. I am here to reassure you that it is ok if you are the later person in the scenario above. You can get through this time period no matter your situation, by focusing on consistency during these next two weeks.
Consistency is one of the biggest building blocks to success as an endurance athlete. I stress this all the time because you are a creature of habit. Being consistent with your daily workout schedule is a great place to start focusing right now. You may not have more than 30 minutes to squeeze in a workout, but do everything you can to get that workout in because this workout is the breeding process for the next several workouts and building the foundation of your training consistency to achieve any of your desired goals. You may come back and say, "I can only get in 20 minutes so why bother?". That attitude will prevail with upcoming workouts too if you let it creep in, and you will have your excuse locked in and disappointment and setbacks will be on the horizon.
The consistency you achieve with these workouts will keep your mind focused on other aspects of life that impact your training such as dietary intake and rest will also be closer to your focus during this time. The holidays are a good time to splurge, but limit the splurges to one day and really focus on being consistent on the other days so that you can be at your best daily during this time.
Here are a few things to work on over the next two weeks, and consistently doing this may improve your daily routine for 2022 so that you maximize your time and efforts efficiently:
- Lay out your workout clothes the night before and ensure all devices are charged so you can get in your workout early
- Work out any pre-workout nutrition and have it ready to go when you are up and able to tolerate it. If you are doing a short workout (less than 1 hr), then you can likely hold off on nutrition until after the workout.
- Plan your meals out for your workout the night before, or even on Sunday night for the entire week. This helps save a ton of time and you can prep most things in advance so you are saving time and being more consistent during the holidays
- Go to bed as close to the same time each night during the holidays when you do not have gathering time with family and friends. This will keep you on track and rested.
Remember that consistency builds consistency and you will find a stronger you in several weeks by building on this principal in training and life right now.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays!
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