After a year of being in a box, it’s time to think outside the box. Yes, things look a lot brighter, and we may be on the cusp of going back to our old way of life, preferred workouts, and favorite races. But there may never be a better time to take a look around and survey the fitness landscape. Maybe take the road, trail, or exercise mat less traveled. Or at a minimum, shed the lockdown pounds and get some of that sweet fitness back.
1. Make Safety A Priority
Do not go back to the gym or pool or racing until you are satisfied that it is safe for you. Everything and everyone will be there when you get there.
Are gyms safe? (Advisory Board)
2. Reexamine Your Goals
Decide what your fitness goals are outside of PRs for a specific event, course, or distance. Ask yourself if your fitness activities are sustainable and healthy long term. Can you keep doing what you’re doing and more importantly do you want to? Look for some new fitness areas to explore. Find some new workouts or events to try. Sometimes it seems like the big choice is between trying to go longer or go faster. It doesn’t have to be. Don’t let your sport whether it’s triathlon, trail running, swimming or whatever define you.
3. Reconnect with Your Rowdy Friends
Remember those people you used to see at the gym, on Saturday bike rides, in the pool, at races? They are still probably available to you on social media or via a phone call. Check in, say hey, send a text. Find out how they’re doing, what they’re doing, and if there is something you can be doing with them safely, at a distance, or virtually, whatever works.
4. Explore Strange New Worlds
Don’t be afraid to look for a very different kind of PR: most pushups done in a row, day, or week. Learn to jump rope including doing those cool variations you always wanted to try. Try a kettlebell workout. Check out bodyweight exercises, anything besides burpees. What kind of workout or training plan would make a huge difference in your life? What trip, race, sport have you always wanted to try?
5. Gear Up
Pick something that will get you moving in a new direction: trail running shoes, trekking poles, a trail running or hiking pack, a new bike saddle, a rain jacket, some killer socks. If it gets you out of the house, it’s a solid investment.
6. Start a Streak
(Not that kind of streak) Pick something helpful, doable, and safe. 50 pushups a day, a new dinner recipe every Saturday, two yoga classes a week. Agility ladder sessions every other day. Don’t forget there are plenty of online options.
50 Lessons Learned from a 50-Day Run Streak (No Meat Athlete)
7. Do Something Virtually incredible
Don’t like the current crop of virtual events? Consider putting together solo, small group, or virtual events/races/challenges. Fun, DIY events where you make the rules and you set the distance. Make up your own 30-day Leaning Tower of Pisa challenge that’s 297 stairs a day. Virtual bike trainer ride from your place to Graceland or Disney or across your state. Weekend run around the island of Montserrat, plan to go about 18 miles.
I always wanted to do the Oak Island Bridge to Pier triathlon: 525-meter ocean swim, 16-mile bike, and a four-mile flat run. I’m not sure if they have the event anymore but that doesn’t mean I can’t recreate it locally substituting lake for ocean and roads or trails for the bike and run.
How To Start Your Own Virtual Race (Outside)
8. Eat Like You Mean It
Stop looking at your diet and meals as a chore. Learn new cooking skills. Try new dishes, new foods, new desserts. Man (or woman) does not live by sports drinks and gels alone. Give that spice rack a workout.
9. Sharpen the Saw
Learn a new skill like bike maintenance. Try your hand at changing a chain, cassette, saddle, or maybe just learn to adjust your brakes. Broaden or deepen your knowledge of exercise or sports science. Improve your grasp of weight lifting periodization. Master recovery techniques. Get inspired by stories of spectacular feats of endurance. Absorb the intricacies of land navigation.
Practical Programming for Strength Training
The Essential Wilderness Navigator
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