EBR Friday Focus

by ENDURANCE BIKE AND RUN

"Practical insights for sustainable progress"

Hello ,,

When Progress Stalls Despite Consistency

Onset of fatigue at this time of year can be quite common, as additional factors compound to potentially disrupt consistent training and consolidated gains in fitness.

3 Insights About Mid-Season Fatigue

I.

Small external factors can compound to make what was a solid and sustainable routine, a little out of reach. Clocks changing for daylight saving time and more daylight hours can mean you get less sleep. Unusually hot weather also disrupts sleep and can also make any given training session a little harder, and harder to recover from. Look out for small changes and compensate accordingly to make sure you don't drift into a state of chronic fatigue.

II.

Mental engagement can also drift as new stimuli take over. Having a raft of new things that fill your mind like travel to races, planning vacations, kids at home rather than at school, all add up to external stresses that have to be dealt with. It may not be what we want but it is better to accept that the focus has to change and a bit of compromise could serve you better than trying to push through and do everything badly.

III.

Increased training volume and lighter, summer salads can mean that what was an effective diet that sustained your training becomes slightly inadequate. Replacing 'comfort food' with a healthy salad can provide additional nutrients but it is also important to replace the lost calories that you need to build and sustain fitness.

2 Questions For You

I.

When you review the past month, what patterns do you notice in your energy levels that might relate to factors outside your training plan—sleep quality, work stress, or seasonal changes?

II.

If you had to choose between maintaining current training intensity with declining motivation or reducing intensity to restore engagement, which would better serve your long-term goals?

1 Real-World Example

Like most of Europe, we have experienced unusually hot conditions recently. It happens every year at some point but seemingly for increasingly prolonged periods.

Predictably, this results in changed eating patterns, difficulty in remaining properly hydrated and perhaps most importantly, disrupted sleep.

Unlike the US, air conditioning isn't common in European houses and it also seems ethically questionable to use electricity to cool our house when it isn't a life necessity. However, last year we took the decision to buy a portable unit to use in our bedroom. It is a relatively small increase in our electricity usage but makes a huge difference to our quality of sleep and therefore our mental and physical wellbeing.

Keeping the room well insulated and avoiding solar gain during the day also creates a haven of escape for some quiet time.

... not to mention the benefit to our very well insulated furry friend, Fernand, who really struggles in the heat.

Could you make a small change that makes a big impact on recovery, perhaps even completely mitigating the negative impacts and allowing you to capitalise on the many positives of this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere?

Clare explores this phenomenon in depth in our latest blog: Mid-Season Fatigue in Ultra Endurance Training: Recognizing and Overcoming the Slump

If you're an endurance cyclist or runner stalling through fatigue. We build training and recovery systems so you can race at full power – without burning out.

Just click this link or the button below to arrange a time to find out how we can help you.

Book a consultation to explore how we can help you develop sustainable training patterns that work for your life.

Keep moving forward,

John and Clare

The EBR Newsletter delivers evidence-based endurance insights every Friday. If you know someone who might benefit from our systematic approach to endurance challenges, please forward this email to anyone who might find it useful or interesting.