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2017-09-29 8:14 PM


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Subject: Work Getting In The Way
I am beginner triathlete who caught the triathlon bug and spent all summer on a contract job at home, being able to train, and compete on a strict awesome basis (ie; workouts, specificity, nutrition, sleep, etc). Lost tons of weight, got in great shape!

However I am back to reality,back on the road.Context: I work in an mining/oil/gas industry that has shift cycles, remote areas, long hard hours, no access to fresh food, hotels with no amenities, etc. Questions to ponder for this post, and if there is any hope for people like me that don't work the normal 9-5 but don't want to die at 50 as an overweight alcoholic in a dirty hotel, (pardon my rudeness).

1. I tend to not be able to work out at all lately on shift, and I cram all of my workouts to my 5 days off out of every 8 to 10 on shift days. Is this OK or even worthwhile for training for endurance sports?

2. Being forced to move from Plant based diet to vegetarian out of necessity on the road, then eating plant based at home, is this type of yoyoing ok?

3. Does anyone know of any kind of online coach programmer that would factor in for these kind of crazy circumstances.

What if any recommendations do people have with dealing with this type of shift cycles where all of the environmental factors are stacked against you.

Thanks and cheers to everyone that replies.



Edited by mav_9 2017-09-29 8:16 PM


2017-09-29 9:27 PM
in reply to: #5228955

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Subject: RE: Work Getting In The Way
A couple of thoughts regarding workouts on the road. If the hotel has a workout room you can usually find a treadmill and a cycling machine. If not, just bring your running gear and get a quick run in before or after work. Get a set of stretch cords and you'll be able to work on the pull for your swimming...keep your elbow high and your wrist/hand flat when your pulling. Google Shelia Taormina for the proper stretch cord practice technique. Good luck...it's hard maintaining fitness when you're bouncing around like that...just have to be a little creative.
2017-09-29 10:17 PM
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Subject: RE: Work Getting In The Way
Not in nearly as extreme a situation as you, though my work definitely throws some challenges at me. I teach at an international school in Vietnam. Regular hours, but I do deal with long hours on my feet, starting work early, being exposed to lots of cold and flu germs, living in a developing country with crazy traffic, and often difficult weather. My $0.02:

1. Do what you can. Recognize that your situation is not going to be ideal (as in your summer job, or my summers when I can essentially train and recover full-time if I want). But anything positive you can do training-wise or diet-wise is better than giving up and doing nothing. Compare what you are able to do each day to a baseline of doing nothing, not what you can do in an ideal situation. In reality, very few people have an ideal situation.

I had the interesting experience recently of meeting a woman who won the Ironman 70.3 championships a few age groups up from mine, and her husband. She's retired, lives in a warm climate, has a supportive, athletic spouse who can help her out with logistics, plenty of money for training and travel, a great club to ride and run with and safe places to do that, and can pretty much spend her days training and recovering. That's not my life. Even if I had her talent (I probably don't; last year I had a good year and was ranked in the top 20 in my AG in the world, but nowhere close to #1; this year sucked for a variety of reasons), I don't have those advantages and probably never will. Without them (and probably with them), I'm not going to be her caliber of athlete. I have to accept that, and do what I can with what I have. That is true for most of us.

2. Same for diet. There are many kinds of healthy diets; for most people, vegetarian or plant-based, or even with some meat or fish, is probably fine. Do your best, and make your peace with that. It's better to do a pretty good job consistently than give up because you can't be "perfect". Know your challenges (meals when traveling? snacks? breakfasts?) and try to carry some foods with you to deal with those, rather than depend on what's available in a store, restaurant, work site, etc.

3. I'm not sure about online programs. With a silver or gold BT membership, I believe you can customize the plans available on this site by moving workouts around to different days, etc. I have done that in the past. But if you have serious health or competitive goals, you might consider working with an actual human coach whom you can familiarize with your needs and training situation. This is one of the reasons I decided to get a live coach rather than use online plans--I was having difficulty adapting them to both my strengths and weaknesses as an athlete, and my situation living in a developing country where times and facilities for training can be quite limited.

Edited by Hot Runner 2017-09-29 10:30 PM
2017-10-01 12:23 PM
in reply to: mav_9


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Subject: RE: Work Getting In The Way

That's a tough situation, but props to you for recognizing that it's important to stay active even if it's tough. I've been there as well, not easy. 

Some recs:

 

- Try hard to make it work but be VERY realistic about the hours and times you can commit. It's better to underball it at first so you don't get discouraged when things don't work out. Even 30 mins of activity for each of those 5 days you're off is great.

 

- Work on running. You can literally run around a building over and over again and get a darn good workout. Even

 

if you do no 'fast' running, you'll be in great running shape. (I run marathons at 7min/mile but I run the huge majority of my miles at 9min/mile.

 

- You can get remarkably good bike training by doing stairs over and over again. 

 

- Your enemy to the above is monotony. Throw in pickups in pace here and there, and get ready with podcasts/audiobooks/music on the repetitive long days. 

- Consistency is better than hero weeks. 20 minutes x 5 days per week of moderately low activity for several months will outdo a hero week where you force 10 hours of training even when you're tired and rushed and thus have to rest next week.

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