Keeping Going after the January Good Intensions

Here are a few ways to keep motivated:

1. Be consistent - it is hard to maintain the work-life balance, let alone incorporate regular exercise. But it is damaging to do lots of training one day/week and little the next.

2. Set goals - and within those set smaller stepping stones. For example if you know that you want to run for 1hour in 6 months time, start with 20mins the first week, and aim to add 10% each week. If you have a standard distance triathlon in May, book in a super-sprint for end of Feb and a sprint for mid April.

3. A Short session is better than no session - no session is too brief. Even if you had an hour session planned, a half hour session is better than nothing. As long as you have a warm up and stretching session after, you can be happy with your efforts. Just reschedule the longer session for when you have more time.

4. Train with others - we often find it more pleasurable and less hard work doing a session when we do it with others. Many times, we will work harder or faster with someone else alongside.

5. Make it fun - If you aren’t enjoying your training try thinking about another way you could do it to make it more pleasurable. How about exploring a new town on a bike, or running to work and arriving invigorated. Swap the road bike for a mountain bike and get muddy, or if it is raining and cold do a class instead of a run or cycle. If it is safe, try listening to a pod-cast or music. Routes get tired, so reverse them or find new ones. Whilst you exercise enjoy

your surroundings and the simple rhythm of your movements.

6. Be flexible - Somedays training is not appropriate, despite the training plan. So feel free to adapt. If you are under the weather or have other pulls on your time that prevent you training when you normally would, try not to let it get to you. Always listen to your body and delay your training until you are healed. Be content to adapt to the changes you have to make.