Motivational Tips to Help You to Follow the Plan

Ever struggle to get yourself out the door and on the bike? Ever feel burnt out? Want to find even more motivation and ensure you #FtFP on a regular basis? Well you have come to the right place! Here are our top five tips that will help you do just that:

(Tips 1-2 come from our Dietitian and Community Manager, Lacey. Tips 2-6 are from Coach Jake)

1. Train in the Mornings!

Do we sound like a broken record yet? We preach this all the time because it is our #1 tip for nailing your workouts. You might even remember it from our Seven Habits of Highly Successful Masters Athletes training tip! Why do we recommend this? Becasue training in the morning means you #FtFP before anything can get in your way. Whether that be a family emergency, work obligations or the fun afternoon showers we get here in Colorado. Training in the mornings is also a great way to increase your energy and mood so that the rest of your day is productive and pleasant. Many athletes get grumpy when they can't ride their bikes or have to wait to ride… and who wants to be a grumpy pants all day?!

46075Champions are made in the Off Season: Lift Weights and Build a Big Base 2. Plan For Success

The night before: Lay out all of your clothes, plan your route, upload it to your wahoo/garmin if you need, mount your computer on your bike, make sure your bike lights, powermeter and computer are charged, air up your tires, fill up your bottles, grab your GU gels, prep your post ride meal, and any other little things that will save you time in the morning. That way when you wake up, you know all you have to do is put on your clothes and head out. You know you are already

3. Change things up

Do a different route! Some riders get stuck in a funk and ride the same routes day in and day out. Use the Strava route builder to plan out a new route. If you don't have time to do that, ride your usual route backwards or look at a map and find new roads to ride on. Really you are only limited by your own imagination!

4. Do Stravals or Bottom to Top Intervals

You can still #FtFP by trying to accommodate these type of efforts, plus they add some fun and friendly competition to your ride! Be sure to find segments that match the time of your intervals, then just focus on finishing the segment as opposed to a time. Same goes with a climb. Just go from bottom to top.

5. Go off the beaten path

Do some off-road riding! You can do mountain biking, gravel riding or etc. Don't just do all the same type of riding if you can help it. When you are on the MTB, you go off of heart rate and/or perceived exertion as opposed to staring at your power data the entire time, which can help change things up.

6. Ride with Friends

While we aren't advocating for group rides right now, they can be a great way to get you excited to go ride. MTB rides are typically easy to socially distance on… But if you don't feel that you can practice social distancing or are wanting to stay as safe as you can, plan a group ride on zwift or even set up a Strava route for all of your friends to go out and complete. Heck, make it a time trial if you like! Again, you are only limited by your imagination. Here is a podcast for how to fit group rides in when you are following one of our training plans!

We hope these tips help you find that little bit of extra motivation that you need. If there are some other tips you have, feel free to drop them in the comments below!

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Lacey provides education and guidance to athletes about how to make healthy food choices that supports their performance goals, aids in sustainable weight loss, and improves their recovery. We are currently in the process of developing custom nutrition plans and one-on-one counseling with her, so keep your eyes out for those to be released in the near future!

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