OK, today I want you to listen to what I say NOT follow my example.
The following are 3 **KEY** components to a training cycle (heck, to your day-to-day life!) that should always be considered…yet are some of the first things that get cut when I become time poor (which I inevitably do):
SLEEP // I talk about this one all the time. Sleep is perhaps the single-most important part of your training. Period. There’s no point doing any form of training if you don’t give your body rest periods to beneficially adapt. And the most effective rest period? You guessed it - sleep.
DRILLS // I’m not talking about Bob The Builder DIY stuff, I’m talking about form specific running drills. I schedule these into all my training programs, usually to complete at the end of certain runs, yet I skip them regularly as time gets away from me. And no matter how often I tell myself I’d be better off cutting my run 10 minutes short to get the drills in…I don’t. (But I should).
NUTRITION // This is a component I am getting MUCH better at, yet there are still improvements to be made in making my nutrition part of a routine. A little like sleep, you are wasting training if you don’t back it up by putting the right things in your body. That doesn’t mean throwing back protein shakes and every vitamin going around (leave that to Cronulla and the Bombers) – it just means ensuring that you eat at the right times to complement your training, and that what you eat is as wholesome as possible.
And yes, before you ask, choc-peanut butter thickshakes are definitely wholesome (just don’t tell my Naturopath).
See you out there – Juddy