You probably recognize it: after a long day at work, you need to get on your bike and complete your planned workout. Deep down, you'd rather curl up on the couch and watch TV, but with your goals in mind, you muster up the discipline to train. The ambition of cycling goals is sometimes like walking a tightrope. It's all about finding the balance between burnout and progress. But how do you handle this and maintain that balance without losing sight of your goals? Ella shares tips from her experience working out alongside an office job.
What is the big difference between the avid amateur and the pros? Mainly the time available. For one thing, there is less time to train. Whereas a pro can easily spend twenty hours a week on the bike, the dedicated amateur might get 10-12 hours on top of a 40-hour work week. This can be managed well with structured training using apps like JOIN or with a personal coach. This allows you to make the most of your available hours. This approach also forces you to review your schedule each week and make adjustments as necessary. The key is consistency and setting realistic goals with the time you have. This will save you a lot of disappointment.
The hours listed can be challenging to meet, especially during a busy week. But have you tried commuting by bike? Or, if you work from home, taking your bike on Teams meetings where you don't need to actively contribute but want to attend? Even sitting on a Swiss ball for 2x5 minutes a day can give your core a workout. Sometimes, lack of time requires creativity, and often more can be done than you think.
What has helped me personally is not running too many races but setting two main goals. This doesn't mean you can't ride more than two events, of course. Work towards your goals with good periodization and use the rest as training. You don't have to ride every race to get a good result. Getting used to events, the peloton, or just the camaraderie is also worth a lot. After all, practice makes perfect!
What the amateur is more likely to miss, in addition to training hours, is rest and recovery. While the professional can eat and relax after training, the amateur has to work. Recovery from an office job is physically doable, but mentally you will experience a higher workload. The danger of going over the top mentally is always lurking: sometimes there is just too much on your plate, and after a few weeks of hard training, things don't go so well anymore. I notice this especially in intervals where I no longer achieve power and feel a general sense of fatigue. What is very difficult is admitting this to yourself and daring to take a rest. In the end, this will only help you restore balance faster.
Perhaps the most important thing besides training and work: make sure your close family, partner, and friends are well informed about your goals and what it will take to achieve them. Sometimes you will have to disappoint them because you choose to go for that workout. Communicating this well will ensure that your close circle really understands. But in return, be there for them when you do have or make the time. Remember: cycling is a hobby. Maybe an out-of-control hobby, but you don't make a living from it. Every time I go back to work and get on my bike in the evening, I remind myself of this. This doesn't mean you can't go full steam ahead, but giving yourself this reality check can put things in perspective.
Naturally, these tips are just the tip of the iceberg, and physically demanding jobs are not covered here. Do you have any experiences of your own that you'd like to share about how you deal with this? Or how you combine a physical job with training? We'd love to hear about it, so let us know in the comments!