Home > Blogs

Winter motivation: Save it up for the summer

bike trainer

Motivation—it’s the most important thing when it comes to our successes and failures. Without it, you won’t stick to your plan or get on the bike when things get tough. And things always get tough.

How is your motivation right now as we all turn our attention toward the new season coming in a few months? I bet it is through the roof. You have just come off a rest phase and have now re-focused your sights on some big objectives for the summer of 2014. For all of us, now is the time to dream big; the sky’s the limit. But it is also the time to restrain ourselves a bit.

But hold on there, killer. Take a look at your objectives for the coming season.

In an earlier blog post, I discussed summer motivation and how to get through that slump we all tend to go through when our motivation wanes. Now is actually a time when you can look ahead and plan for that summertime slump. Right now though, with your motivation sky high, all you want to do is head into the basement get on the trainer and pound out some killer workouts to get that fitness up. Go time!

But hold on there, killer. Take a look at your objectives for the coming season. They are probably a good three, four or even five months away. Why do you want to be super fit now?

I often hear athletes telling me about all the awesome off-season training they are doing on the turbo trainer: “I’m on the trainer for hours, smashing it!” And where are they when we get to May, which is really the start of the competitive season for us in Canada? Burned out. No doubt about it: no matter how motivated you are, riding on the turbo is mentally taxing. Be careful not to burn up all that motivation in the off-season.

Plan out your season and use the winter to maintain your fitness and work on some weaknesses. Don’t use it as a time to tire yourself out. Bottle some of that motivation, store it up, and when that summer slump comes, remember how excited you were for the upcoming season. Your objectives are around the corner and now it really is go time!