January is an important month to get focused

It’s January, winter is here and springs feels like it is really far away! This can be tough on most people’s motivation to get out there and train but the New Year is an important time to get focused or refocused on your training goals for the season. Hopefully setting some resolutions will help, but if you need a little push, here are a few ways to get rejuvenated and reasons why consistency now will pay off in the summer.

There is still lots of time. If you have fallen off the wagon a little going into the Christmas holidays, that’s ok but now it’s time to get the consistency back into your training. If you haven’t already, sit down and lay out your goals for the season. You and your coach should do this together to figure out where the areas of improvement are based on last year’s experiences and results. There is still plenty of time to work in a focus session on an area of weakness and turn it into a strength.

Hire a coach. Now is a great time to get a coach if you don’t already have one. They have the expertise to see what needs to be prioritized now and how to go about getting you there while taking into consideration your time, work, and family commitments. They can objectively set out a plan that will put focus on improvements in the right place at the right time so you will be well prepared for race season. It also helps that you have someone holding you accountable for your training which motivates a lot of people to get the work done at this time of year when excuses are plentiful.

Switch it up a bit. If you live in an area with lots of snow which makes outdoor riding tough, get into some skate skiing. This is an excellent intense cardiovascular cross training activity to replace a ride with during the week and get you outside which is a nice break from riding the trainer.

Get to a winter training camp. There are many training camps out there and may be just the incentive you need to get going. A warm climate and expert advice from on site coaches will kick start your fitness and motivation to carry you through the rest of the winter. LifeSport Coaching offers camps in Maui and Mexico in January both designed to prepare you for the upcoming race season.

Train with others. Having a group of people or even just one buddy who you know is expecting you is a great way to get yourself out there on those tough days. Or, you can also join an indoor cycling group for what are usually some tough trainer rides great for gaining strength on the bike.

Consistency is the most important thing. January is a month that can be tough to get workouts in due to bad weather and short days; however, it is better to get most of the workout in consistently rather than skip many in a row. Your fitness will be way ahead in the spring if you get those trainer rides in or even runs on a treadmill if necessary. Remind yourself of why you are putting this effort in and how much better you will be this summer with an amazing base of fitness to build off of for those intense race specific workouts in the spring. You can’t bring your bike out in April and expect to be at top fitness in May but you can with a well laid out plan to build you to that level now.

The bottom line here is that dedicating yourself to a consistent training schedule now and finding ways to keep you motivated will have you achieving personal bests this summer. Winter seems so long at the time but the spring will sneak up on you and wouldn’t it be nice to greet it feeling like you have a head start. So get focused and get going!

LifeSport triathlon coach Jessica Adam has been a coach in Victoria, Vancouver and now resides in the Toronto area. She loves to share her years of experience with beginner triathletes and also experienced triathletes that are trying new distances like ½ IM or IM for the first time. She coaches athletes online all across the country.

If you are interested in working with Jess, write Jess@LifeSportCoaching.com