How do you fit the variety of training in?
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aggiesrar05
Posts: 335 Member
I really don't want to sound like I'm whining because I know I got myself into this, but I'm having an issue getting in *all* the training I think I need and still having a life!
I feel like I'm either at work/school (granted the semester just ended so that will be slightly less of an issue), at the gym (to swim), on the bike, running with my dog, or sleeping. I've had more than one friend get aggravated that I'm never around.
How do you all do it? I think next week I'm going to try to switch my swimming to mornings before I go to work and see if that balances things out a little.
I feel like I'm either at work/school (granted the semester just ended so that will be slightly less of an issue), at the gym (to swim), on the bike, running with my dog, or sleeping. I've had more than one friend get aggravated that I'm never around.
How do you all do it? I think next week I'm going to try to switch my swimming to mornings before I go to work and see if that balances things out a little.
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It is hard! In general, fitness is hard. I work full time and I have a husband and four kids. As you can imagine, I don't have a lot of TIME. For one thing, I get up every morning at 4:40 to be at the gym at 5:00 when they open. I try to swim on many mornings (45 minutes or 25 minutes followed by a 25 minute run). I try to do SOMETHING in the early evenings, either while dinner is baking or after 7:00 when my youngest goes to bed. If I run in the early evening, I push my baby in the stroller, which he loves. I often take my 8 year old or 6 year old running with me so that I can spend that time with them. They can both run about 5 miles. Basically, I try to have two workouts per day, but they are both less than an hour. On Sundays I do a long run (8 - 12 miles), so that is my "long" day. I try to do a longer ride on Saturdays, but right now I am really bad at that and struggling there.0
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When I was at school I had many friends who were interested in the various sports of triathlon. A couple were cyclists, a few were runners and one was a swimmer. I managed to squeeze 'friend time' into my workouts and ti was always great. I also organized my days so that my homework was done before I ever left campus in the afternoon. That way my evening was open up for a second workout, girlfriend, friends, clubs, etc...
Now with a full time job, I train in the morning and right after I get home from work. Come dinner time, I'm free for the rest of the night! Then again, I have no kids and not married(yet).0 -
Ok, my post was a little (or more than a little) whiney! Sorry. More power to all of you with families that train!! I can't even imagine that. :-)
I work full time and am in grad school full time, but don't have any kids and am not married... yet :-) I typically take my dog running with me and she loves that. But I think I'm going to try to switch things up and go swim in the mornings, that seems to be the thing I have the hardest time fitting in.0 -
As far as the training. My alarm goes off at 4 or 4:20. I'm in the gym by 5 at the latest and workout until 7 or so. On the days I work from home I spend my lunch break on the bike trainer. On the weekend I have one off day and one day where I'm up at the break of dawn for a long trainer ride or a long outside ride. Trainer rides are actually done before dawn technically. Honestly this is why people don't tend to dabble in triathlon. Its expensive and it's all consuming.
As far as the friends go I lost a few along the way. A few have chosen to join me. Oh and I joined a local triathlon club. The majority of my close friends are now triathletes. I see them in the pool at 5 AM and at various meeting spots on the weekend waiting for the sun to rise so we can ride. They GET me. They understand the "triathlon widow" issues, etc.0 -
Thanks everyone for the tips and insight!
Again, I do apologize for sounding like a whiney complainer.0 -
Thanks everyone for the tips and insight!
Again, I do apologize for sounding like a whiney complainer.
OMG! You don't sound whiney. You are asking a question...and a good one. More power to you! This IS HARD!0 -
Morning workouts save me.0
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OK, a similar question here....I'm really getting into strength training and cut down on my cardio. Now I'm going to start training for a sprint tri which means LOTS of cardio. How do you all fit in strength training? I'd like to continue to gain muscle. Thanks so much!0
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OK, a similar question here....I'm really getting into strength training and cut down on my cardio. Now I'm going to start training for a sprint tri which means LOTS of cardio. How do you all fit in strength training? I'd like to continue to gain muscle. Thanks so much!
This is a difficult question. Traditional tri wisdom is that you get your strength training in from doing things like running hills, hard intervals, biking hills, etc. There really isn't a whole lot of type II muscle used in triathlon like there is in weight lifting so it's just extra weight to carry in a race. That said I used to be a powerlifter and don't want to look skinny fat like many triathletes do so I lift primarily for vanity purposes. I lift push/pull so I just tack it on the back end of some of my shorter s/b/r days.0 -
I know what you mean-triathlons are time consuming and I too have lost friends along the way..but the rewards I get from working outweigh the negatives......0
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That said I used to be a powerlifter and don't want to look skinny fat like many triathletes do so I lift primarily for vanity purposes. I lift push/pull so I just tack it on the back end of some of my shorter s/b/r days.
From your picture, it doesn't look like you are anywhere near skinny fat! LOL! I think the weights are working.0 -
Lol...get up early.....go to bed late :-)0
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Lol...get up early.....go to bed late :-)
We need a "like" button here!0 -
Waking up early, as most have said, works well. Sure, I don't have as much time to socialize, but I can't drink on a Friday night anyways with a long brick on Saturday morning, so what's the point? Sitting around eating with friends was a huge contributor to my weight gain and they're all still doing that, while I've lost my weight and get to show off medals from events. I think I ended up finding out that if my friends don't care about what I care about, why are we friends again? A few friends have started running so we do local 5K's together and that's fun, but I have realized with others that we really don't have anything in common, so I have to be okay with not hanging out with those people a lot. Just like you have to give up some foods along this journey to health, you have to make other sacrifices too sometimes.0
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OK, a similar question here....I'm really getting into strength training and cut down on my cardio. Now I'm going to start training for a sprint tri which means LOTS of cardio. How do you all fit in strength training? I'd like to continue to gain muscle. Thanks so much!
Drop the ST.0 -
You can still squeeze in some strength training but it's not easy. The battle is that if you are trying to determine if you should go do a arm/back session knowing you have a swim session early the next morning. How do you put in the effort required to build strength and mass and allow time for those muscles you just thrashed to heal and rebuild? Dunno...
I fit in strength training but it's limited to simple old school stuff. At the end of my runs, assuming I am not swimming right after, I find a picnic table or a chair and do dips, then some push-ups and crunches. Takes about 15-20 minutes and I am done. My legs are genetically huge and if anything I would like to drop some muscle on them so no leg work for me outside of running and cycling.0 -
You can still squeeze in some strength training but it's not easy. The battle is that if you are trying to determine if you should go do a arm/back session knowing you have a swim session early the next morning. How do you put in the effort required to build strength and mass and allow time for those muscles you just thrashed to heal and rebuild? Dunno...
I fit in strength training but it's limited to simple old school stuff. At the end of my runs, assuming I am not swimming right after, I find a picnic table or a chair and do dips, then some push-ups and crunches. Takes about 15-20 minutes and I am done. My legs are genetically huge and if anything I would like to drop some muscle on them so no leg work for me outside of running and cycling.
Thanks man....I know how you feel about the genetically huge legs....I need to tone and lose fat, but I will definitely not have to work as hard on my lower half as my top half when it come to muscle.0
