How do you get back in the groove if you’ve been away from training, racing or ‘athlete life’ for a while?? You can define a while however you’d like as well – a week a month a year or more… Let’ review some tips and tricks to get back into your athlete swing.
Life gets hectic…downright chaotic at times. We know, we’re humans too 😉 Sometimes your perfectly laid out plan to train consistently doesn’t always work out. Sometimes race days don’t go swell. Sometimes you’re just not feelin’ it for the day or week or month. Here are a few tips & tricks we’ve learned along the way as athletes. They work well when you apply yourself!
GO SMALL – You know that old saying ‘go big or go home’?? Well if you are just getting back into training and racing after any significant amount of time you can certainly go big…and then you’ll likely go home (but it may not be how you’d like it to). Go small with your training and race goals. Achieve them without big injury risk. These small wins can help you build your confidence up which is really important as an athlete.
TRAIN SMART – This one aligns with the ‘go small’ above. Be smart about your training and adding stress back into your life as an athlete. Little bits and time blocks added in are WAY better than trying to chomp off huge chunks for time and multiple disciplines to train. Add things in as you feel comfortable and don’t see injury risk creeping up.
WHAT’S YOUR WHY? – Sit down in a quiet space and ask yourself this question. Why do I want to train? Why do I want to race? Why should I tackle that next trail run? What is it’s purpose and meaning to me? Ask yourself these questions and be honest! Knowing your reason and why can really help with sparking motivation!
PRO TIP: Just start! This is sometimes the absolute toughest part. Making the decision to just start (even if it’s a 15 minute brisk walk to get moving) – it’s something. This first step can be a huge mental win on this journey!
What are your thoughts on getting back into an athlete groove? How have you made that happen in the past?