When devising a training plan for the upcoming season, whether you do it yourself or have a coach outline it for you, consistency in your training is key. Skipping workouts, however infrequent it might seem, will hamper your progress and instill a sense of guilt.
How many times do we think, "I should have done _____ today." Even if we don't have the time, the thought of a missed workout eats at us until our next opportunity to sweat. And if you do find yourself skipping workouts frequently, then it might be time to rethink your plan. Maybe you're scheduling too many hours or workouts during your week.
When I ask my athletes to figure out how many hours, maximum, they have each week to train, I tell them to subtract 20- 25% from that figure to come up with a realistic training budget. That 20-25% deduction allows for those "unforeseens" that take up our time but we can't really put our fingers on. For example, I didn't work out today because I spent a lot of time shoveling the 8 inches of snow we got last night. I decided to keep the day low stress rather than add another "to do" to the list.
The holidays are well-behind us now so it's time to start focusing on the new season. The more consistent you can be, and the more stress you can remove from your training schedule, the more progress you'll make and the more fun you'll have.
Happy Training,
Coach Nate