Spank on… Keepin On! (Beat Your Winter Workout Blues)
Spank, is a Monkeroo* that lives with Shandra and Clint Chapman and will be sharing his observations in his column, Spank On…. (musings that will make your triathlon life easier)
It may be sunny and 70 degrees where you are, but for a Midwest Monkeroo, winter has set in. As he conjures (Happy Halloween!) up his article, Spank is looking out the window at a gray sky and lots of rain… and it ain’t warm either. Dreary days, and the promise of many to come, can send a once dedicated athlete spinning right out of his running shoes!
Don’t fall victim to the Winter Wasteland…
It’s not just the uninviting weather that might keep you indoors and on the couch; you’re probably just plain sick of chlorine and saddle sores! You have been swimming, biking and running** yourself to smaller clothes, bigger muscles and elusive finish lines, probably since last March.
Take this time to do something else. Join a weekly spinning class (good for building biking muscles) embrace the new pole-dancing-as-exercise craze (many gyms offer this class and it’s primo for core building), or concentrate on the one discipline that doesn’t make you want to scream at this point… focus on a running race or try out some “froze toes” mountain biking races… just lay off the routine already!
It’s also fine to rest & recoup for a week or two. It’s not commonly suggested that you run 15 miles a week forever (or do any one thing without a break). You need time here and there to let your muscles and joints rejuvenate. Just include a few easy “downtime” workouts, so you don’t lapse into lazy zone with no hope of return.
Make some deals with yourself and stick to them (this will help you keep the discipline you’ve worked so hard to secure), but give your natural inclinations the long end of the stick. If you decide to hop in the pool twice a week so that you don’t squander all the hard work it took to get where you got, great! Just make sure that you’ve decided you will do (for example) 500 yards each time, and after 500, you will get out when you feel like it; no drill-sergeant you-will-swim-3500-yards even-if-you’re-crying-and-snotting-all-over-the-water mantras. Plan to lift weights in the evening one day, and if you feel an abhorrence to biceps curls creep through your body as you leave work, do it the next day instead.
Keep up the good work – maintain strength and fitness – but do what you want to do, when you want to do it, for as long as you can stand it. You have all spring and summer to scorn rational behavior and force your body into 70.3-mile shape!
* a Monkeroo is a monkey with a kangaroo pouch… a stuffed monkey onto which Shandra pinned a pouch… not a living animal.
**Note Here: Because Spank has dedicated his column to tips for triathletes, he will continue to focus on multi-sporters. However, being disproportionate to the basic geometry of bikes, and sporting a pouch that holds water, Spank does not discriminate against the non-triathletes out there. Aerobics junkies, glider fanatics and every other regimented exerciser – grab the essence of his words, and apply gently!
Technorati Tags: triathlon, tips, winter, workout
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POSTED IN: Cycling, Endurance, Misc., Prevention, Running, Spank On..., Your Body
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