I was 15 years old and skinny-fat. Not liking what I saw in the mirror, I began running up to 10 kilometres before school every morning. We lived on an old country road outside Peterborough, Ont. and I ran out and back again, pushing myself one hydro post further each time.
But running only made me skinnier. It did nothing to change my physique. Thats when I joined the boys in the weight room after school. They taught me how to lift weights and build muscle.
I dreamed of working as a lifeguard and taught myself how to swim, adding regular sessions in the water to my weekly exercise routine.
This was also the year I fell in love with cycling and bought my first road bike, a beautiful Red Trek 1500.
After a year, I was no longer a gangly, skinny teenager. I was becoming fitter each day and I was hooked. I loved the endorphin rush and pushed myself to exhaustion each workout. This habit of daily exercising continued into my 20s, up until the day I started racing.
Once I began to take my race results seriously, I hired a coach and learned the importance of training. He taught me how to follow a program and the difference between exercising and training.
It took me a long time to kick the habit of pushing myself to my limit every workout; its against my nature to hold back. But as research and self-study show, I excelled and progressed when I followed my coachs program.
When most people think of exercising, they try to make every second count, try to squeeze the most intensity of each workout. But when you are training for an event, like a Fondo or another race, each workout has a specific purpose and only a few times during the week is that purpose to push yourself as hard as you can.
Not only does each workout have a goal, but so does each week, each month and every season. Even when you arent training, days are planned so you have enough time to recover and build strength. Without a plan, overtraining is common and poor performance is inevitable.
Regardless if you are racing competitively or training for your first event, a plan is crucial. If you are budget-conscious, you can find free plans online. If you want a plan specifically designed for your abilities and goals, I recommend hiring a coach.
A coach will teach you how to train effectively and make adjustments as the season progresses, something that an online program cant do.
Once you have decided which plan to follow, stick with it. The only thing worse than not having a plan is jumping from one plan to another. If you stick to one program for a whole season, youll find out if your plan was successful. After the season is over, you can review your progress (or lack thereof) and adjust for next year.
Kristina Bangma is a coach, personal trainer and writer with a love of riding and racing. Email questions to kris@ getfitwithkris.com.
