AustrAliAn triAthlete | 79Holistic EndurancE
Training TOOLBOX
one-hour training session! Now you don’t
have to be a mathematician to work out
that that is not an efficient use of time.
That additional travel time can be utilised
for recovery, down time, family time, free
time, extra training time – the last thing
we want is wasted time in a busy week!
I get athletes to review their time spent
travelling to and from training and do a
cost vs. reward analysis. Sometimes the
reward (benefit) is worth the cost (time),
but other times it isn’t. For example, you
may not enjoy swimming, or you need a
coach to review your swim technique so
travelling further to get to a swim squad
may be beneficial to you, even if you have
a pool just around the corner. But on the
other side, travelling 20+ minutes to
attend an aerobic style run that you could
do out your front door may not be as
beneficial/effective use of your time. So,
weigh it up and be honest with yourself.
Not every session needs to be done
with a group. Pick the key sessions you
feel you gain the most benefit from (i.e.,
the coaching, camaraderie, etc.) and then
trial completing the other sessions closer
to home/work to save you the extra travel
time. This one can become a BIG time
saver in the long run!
Weekly time saving: >2hours a weekcommute is, during peak builds, some
athletes complete their long aerobic run
to/from work. This means that they then
have spare time on their traditional
‘Sunday long run day’ to either enjoy extra
recovery/down time or complete a
different session. So, to do this, you need
to think and look outside the box of your
‘traditional’ training days/times and work
out if you can incorporate your commute
into this. If you have a coach, discuss
options and see what can be worked into
your weekly training. It is well worth it!
Weekly time saving: >2hours a week
2
TRAIn IndooRs, FRoM
hoMe oR WoRk
As with commuting to and
from work, the travel time to
and from training can be a
costly time waster. I’ve seen athletes
commute anywhere up to 45 minutes to
one hour just to get to complete a
3
AVoId The BIG
‘dAy WAsTeRs’
How often do you find
yourself on the couch at night
simply surfing the web,
scrolling Facebook or mindlessly watching
TV? Don’t get me wrong; we all need
some down time, a way to switch off from
work, training and general life stressors.
But use these in moderation because
before you even realise it, you’ve ‘wasted’
over an hour of your valuable time, it’s now
10pm, and you haven’t even organised
yourself for the next day - sound familiar?
So, set yourself a time limit. Decide how
much time you want to allocate to TV/
social media, and set an alarm. As soon as
the alarm goes off, that’s your time done
for the day. No excuses. Switch off, and
move on. Remember, whatever you are
looking at today, will still be there
tomorrow - you won’t miss out!
Weekly time saving: unlimited! But
most of us could easily save half an
hour a day if we are honest with
ourselves... 4+hours a weekSave
2+
HOURS
Save
4+
HOURS