You are not a cycling robot

It’s funny how we concentrate on the negative and never the good.

As humans, I think we are hard-wired to mentally kick ourselves right in the privates when we don’t do as well as we thought we should or feel like we’ve let ourselves down.

When was the last time you high 5vd yourself???

It’s been a while right?

Crap training sessions can and do happen,

you know what I mean,

you can’t get anywhere near the numbers

no matter what

the body and mind are just not playing ball.

It happens to us all.

If you’ve read Wiggins autobiography he had them,

he accepted that they happen,

focused on the good,

what he could do rather than the negative.

We are not robots. We can’t expect to execute training expertly day in, day out, even if everything is right like nutrition, hydration, rest…we can still have a bad day in training.

I was like this on Tuesday. Physically and mentally tired. I set the bike up on the turbo. Started firing up Zwift, then switched it all off and cooked dinner.

I knew I wasn’t right and training would have potentially made me shattered for the rest of the week.

Did I feel bad taking extra time off?

Initially, but deep down I knew it was the right decision for my physical and mental health. I am not a robot, I can’t keep churning out session after session.

See, I’m normal! Just like you, I have days when I know that my battery is low and need more time to recover regardless of what my plan says.

So, I guess what I’m trying to get across today is that one

bad session or a few extra days off doesn’t mean Jack

in the big picture of quality, consistent training.

Next time you have a crap session or skip a session

because you’ve made an intuitive decision

to value rest over breaking yourself

give yourself a high 5.

You are cycling NOT a robot!

Thanks for reading

Simon

Performance & Nutrition Director
2 X Winner of Gym Based PT, and founder of VPCC