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Back into the swing of things:

Need I say the well worn cliché “It’s been a tough year!” We are all sick of it, but in fairness it really has been a tough year and more so for some people than others.

We have been lucky in that we have had our bikes to keep us from going totally insane in lockdown and restrictions. However with the 5km and country restrictions in the last long lockdown its was hard to be motivated to get out on the bike going round and round the same route! Not the most interesting. Some people were great and managed to stay sane but for a lot of riders, myself included, it was tough. You can be forgiven for just giving up and not getting out on the bike.

A lot of us lost a lot of motivation for the bike and a lot of fitness during this last lockdown.

Thankfully, things are opening up again and going in the right direction plus the summer is on the way we can now start to enjoy our bike again and get back out onto some great roads and routes. But we need to take into account that we may not be in the same shape we were last summer. Also have we anything to aim for? Lots of events we would normally have participated in over the summer are either cancelled or postponed.

With the weather improving and the evenings getting brighter and restrictions lifting its great to be back doing some proper cycling again on varied routes and back with our clubs, friends or groups. This alone should be enough to keep a lot of us motivated however it could be short term, so its good to look at a few things to keep that motivation going to the end of the year.

But before we look at this its important to keep a few things in mind as you are getting back out on the bike.

Photo Luca Unsplash

Keeping motivated;

It’s all very well to think to yourself I’m going to get out and I’m going to get fit again. Some people are by nature very strong willed and this alone will keep them motivated and going, however for most of us this will last a couple of weeks and then we fall off the wagon again!

It’s good to put some things in place that will help with your motivation;

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SOME BASIC PRINCIPLES TO KEEP IN MIND

There a few basic principles of training to keep in mind when starting into a programme;

Some people have lots of time to train others are restricted with work, family and other commitments. So just because somebody is doing 14 hours per week does not mean you can manage it. Most people are lucky if they can squeeze in 6-8 hours per week.

If you are tight on time, like most of us are, then use the time you have spare to ride your bike more. Its great if you have a lot of spare time to do other things like strength and conditioning work, Pilates, Yoga etc which are all great but when you’re stuck for time its hard to fit it all in and will only take away from the time you can spend improving your bike. I’m a big fan of the off the bike work but it’s probably best doing this work during the winter period when you naturally cut back on your time on the bike.

It’ss great to be back on the bike and fingers crossed we will see some events again later in the year. So get planning put some things above in place and most importantly “ENJOY YOUR BIKE”

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Photo Chris Kendall Unsplash

© Aidan Hammond 2021