According to the boffins at Strava, this week is crunch time for sacking off new year’s resolutions and going back to your old ways.
Our mate Ben, bike tester and Strength Factory Coach, has a five reasons why you (yep, you!) should stay the course and keep pushing to become a stronger mountain biker.
So, according to Strava, week commencing 21st January is quitter’s week. It’s the time when the Christmas guilt wears off, dry January gets boring, back-to-work becomes normal and we all give up on our new year’s resolutions.
Instead of slipping back into the old 2018 ways, why not stick to your guns and keep those plans pushing forward?
Our good mate, Strength Factory Coach and Wideopenmag bike tester has the following good advice to help you power on through.
No regrets, no surrender
First, remember that you never regret going for a ride.
When it is cold and wet and motivation is waning you will always be glad that you went riding or training.
You should rightly feel proud of yourself for braving the elements and just getting on with it.
When you are struggling, just remember that post ride feeling and get out the door.
T Minus 67 days and counting
It’s only 67 days until the clocks change in the UK.
It sounds crazy I know, but the warmth of spring and the longer evenings are not actually that far away.
If you work full time, ride once on the weekend and do a couple of training sessions in the week then that is only about 20-30 chances to get out and improve your skill and fitness before spring arrives.
Your arch-rival isn’t giving up
If you are a racer or competitive athlete then you know your competition are out training despite the cold and wet.
You can either use winning and good results this summer as motivation or conversely you can use the fear of crap results and DNF’s as motivation. Both can be effective!
5 minute abs
Never forget that getting better at anything takes time, especially getting fitter and stronger.
Despite what the 5 minute abs adverts tell you, you will need to be consistent over months and years to get fit and strong and to stay fit and strong.
If you are finding a lack of results frustrating then it is probably because you are thinking too short term.
Think about how fit do you want to be in June, not February.
Some help making it happen
First up, go read our story on how to make New Year’s Resolutions that stick.
Ben’s Strength Factory Complete MTB Programme is online here for riders of all levels. You can get 50% off the first month of Ben’s programme using the discount code Wideopen2019.
Read Wideopenmag’s guide to UK mountain bike fitness coaches.
… or our once-a-day stretch for mountain bikers to make you move better.
… or some advice on interval training for mountain bikers to make you fitter and faster.
… or some advice on how to make your own mountain bike fitness training plan.
… or some advice on riding your road bike through the winter to get fitter and faster.
Good luck, get after it!
