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I'm looking at increasing the weekly hours I spend training, trying to find 10-12 hours per week to improve my placings on this year but it's getting increasingly more difficult due to having 2 jobs, wife, kids, dog etc
I find myself up at 6:30 leave for work at 7:15 work 8-4, home 4:30 then back out to work 5:45 until 8pm, evening meal at 9 bed at 10 and I do this 5 days per week.
Shit lifestyle I know, however, needs must.
So I'm looking at trying to find at least an hour per day, maybe more with long 2-3 hour rides on Sat/Sun.
Problem is I'm so tired during the week.
Commuting is out really as it's 20 miles each way, taking 90 mins.
Other than doing 2 30-45 min sessions per day I don't see what else I can do.
Anyone find they get used to getting up early, and by early I mean during the hour of 5 and getting out and doing some structured training, hills, power sessions etc
That would mean going to bed at 9 something, usually when I'm eating my evening meal!
Can I train myself to become a morning person, or will it always be feel horrendous just trying to get out of bed at that time...?
Anyone else in a similar situation to me?
What do you do, how do you manage it...?
I'm in exactly the same situation, work similar hours , wife is a teacher so always working too , have 2 young kids etc etc.....
I just don't have time to train, my only relaxation is staying in bed until 9am on Saturday !
I do as much as I can , usually limited to two zwift races a week . Very occasionally l get a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon.
It's so frustrating when I see people I know posting daily rides on Strava. They seem to have the same cash flow as me , but never seem to have to work 🙁
depends what your training for but 40mins a day is a decent amount,
10mins warm up, 20mins worth of hard efforts in various intervals, 10mins warm down, or the 10x10min thresholdy type stuff building to 20x20 with a 5min break.
Non of my weekly training efforts were over 40mins when training to a decent enough RR level
fwiw i always felt like crap training first thing when I had to, I have mates who'd get up at 5am and jump straight on the turbo, it's do'able for sure but I always felt I trained better after a days work (mostly to take the frustrations of work out on the turbo!)
I'd put the effort into resolving your work situation before worrying about extra training TBH.
I always used to be a night owl despite working with early starts. once I turned 50 this changed - now it is bed by 10 most nights and wide awake at 5.30 ish every day - so in my experience getting older
km79 - MemberI'd put the effort into resolving your work situation before worrying about extra training TBH.
^^That + lots^^
what TJ says
just get old. I'm in my early 50s and am awake and bright and breezy between 5 - 5:30 every day
I think you will run yourself down. Only idea is if you have a long 1h lunch break to do some BN intervals but I guess if your day job is 8-4 it's a quick 30 minutes?
If you are up at 6.30 every day in my opinion you already are a morning person. I also think that you need to look at reducing your work hours to create more time to exercise as trying to squeeze more exercise into your already overfull day will eventually lead to you running yourself down and getting ill which is not productive and can take a long time to come back from.
8 hours sleep per day is best for your health and lack of sleep can increase risk of heart disease and cancer.
I have a very manual job and recently have had to work much more hours per week and have had to reduce the time I have for riding which is really annoying as I am losing cardio fitness but I am aiming to reduce hours in the new year so that the balance is back to where I want it.
Thanks for the advice so far, I'm 41 by the way.
I know I'm trying to burn the candle at both ends.
I only have a short 30 min lunch break but in the past I have done a quick HIIT session.
Not really bike specific but still...
I guess I just need to sort my life out one way or another and get a better balance.
We have a fair bit of debt which I'm working hard to pay off but I also want to better myself in the races I do.
Guess I'm just looking for answers, advice.
From a training point of view as long as I get my hours in does it really matter when they are?
As long as there correct intensity is there, is 10 still 10 hours even if I'm scraping them together here and there?
There's always the weekends for long rides!
Could you eat your main meal in the 4.30 to 5.45 gap? It may mean that you can get a 30 minute slot after work at 8pm, and still time to shower / chill / snack before bed.
It then wouldn't affect sleeping time...
Lol. You're already a morning person. I used to be a proper night owl for years. Going to bed around 6/8am. This year though I've had to completely switch and I'm now up at 7am most days. So yes it is possible to become a morning person.
That being said, I still wouldn't consider myself a morning person. I kind of just do it under duress.
Flowerpower, I could, however it's usually 8:15 by the time I'm home, 8:30pm on the turbo 9pm finish at best then trying to sleep with that post exercise legs feeling is not easy if you know what I mean.
You've got me thinking though, which is good, thanks.
What about starting with 3 sessions a week rather than looking to fit in 5. A couple of early morning turbo sessions and could you miss going home at 4:30 one day a week? Try to get to the gym or a class? See how your body responds, remember you need to recover as much as train.
I reckon you really have to use the commuting time. One way bike one way car? Or similar. Split the route and park the car half-way? Bike might take longer but any other method is completely wasted time.
why does it take 90mins to commute 20 miles
and i agree with the above - you should commute by bike more otherwise this is totally dead time
2 thoughts.
Commute time is dead, somehow I'd try and use this. Maybe ride in 1 day or half way and train the rest maybe? Either way, that's time I'd be looking to use.
Also, 45 mins from bed to the door could be cut down surely? A 15 minute earlier alarm would easily allow a 30 minute turbo smash with a bit of planning I'd have thought? Maybe eat breakfast at work to save even more time.
Some interesting responses, thanks...
To clarify a few things...
15 mph average on a MTB is reasonable I thought therefore 20 miles would take me 90 mins apx...including shower + change time etc
I'll actually up closer to 6am to squeeze in a 15-20 min dog walk which I forgot to mention.
I like the sound of a one way commute.
Maybe a commute home + a structured session bolted on to the end if time permits..
Would take a whole load more organisation of kit/food/bike etc but doable I think...
Yes it takes a bit of organisation (and there will be days when it's pissing down and you don't fancy it). But it gives you back a huge amount of time overall. Soon enough you'll be looking forward to the ride, perhaps doing it both ways on good days...and be far fitter than you thought possible.
For that distance get a road bike (with mudguards and a rack - i.e. something close to a tourer).
Do some reading about social jetlag. It's a well studied phenomenon.
You feel sleepy at night because you produce melatonin, and awake in the day because of serotonin. At some point in the morning melatonin levels go down and serotonin goes up. That's influenced by daylight, but also some of it is inherent to the individual. Morning people get their serotonin and melatonin earlier, and night people get theirs later.
You can force yourself to go against your natural tendency, but you won't change it. I can make myself get up early, but I struggle to be productive and get anything done. Likewise my wife (a morning person) can stay up late, but she ends up feeling like crap and her health suffers.
Re. The morning dog walk, could you run it? 20 mins of running, intervals maybe, every morning would do the job I'd suggest.
I could but is that really Cycling specific enough?
Could it count as "training hours"
I don't particularly enjoy running either, keeps the weight of though I suppose
My thoughts are to do something with the commute. Thing is, I'm coming at it from a family perspective - I've seen several friends fall into the trap of "training time" to the detriment of family time (I don't mean structured activities, just being present and "in the room" so to speak), with the inevitable consequences.
If you can't afford a road bike, put more slick tyres on the MTB. Either way, use your commute to train 2 days a week, 2 rides at the weekend and a turbo session squeezed in...
Drive in Monday, ride back (an hour and a bit training).
Ride in Tuesday, drive back.
Drive in Wednesday, ride back.
Ride in Thursday, drive back.
Rest Friday.
Use the time into work to do a structured session, it's not too hard to smash out intervals (if you have a power meter or heart rate meter) on the commute in.
If you're really tired during the week then you probably need to rest more, not try and do more training!
How hard do you think you'll be able to train if you're knackered?
Very much not a morning person, however work requires that I often need to leave the house by 6.15am, and yesterday (Friday) I didn't get home until 8.15pm. That was a long day.
However, I have had one day in the past where I didn't get home until 11.30pm...
I try not to have too many late nights these days, and I certainly wouldn't think too much about training when my day has more pressing responsibilities.