Elite athletes train for an average of around 1,000 hours per year. For someone with a regular job, this is almost impossible to achieve. But is that the only difference? Or are there other simple ways to narrow the gap?
We like to follow and compare ourselves with the best, wondering what else we could do to optimise our performance. Yet the solution is often closer than we think. Of course, elite athletes train a lot – and they train hard. However, when you compare the daily schedule of a professional with that of a typical working person, you will notice that professionals tackle far fewer tasks each day. Instead of commuting to work, squeezing in a workout between meetings and wolfing down a sandwich during a short lunch break before continuing at the same pace in the afternoon, professionals focus on the essentials. They take time to prepare for training, to train properly and to recover afterwards. Their lunch is substantial and is often followed by a short nap before a second training session in the afternoon, which in turn is supported by a tailored meal. Until dinner, they have time for recovery or administrative tasks.
Rather than doing many things half-heartedly, their focus is on getting the most out of each training session and recovering sufficiently to be fully prepared for the next one. As a working person, this is admittedly difficult, as work naturally takes priority. Training provides a welcome break, but recovery is often sacrificed in favour of work. This is far from ideal, because stress is always stress for the body. In other words, whether you are training or working makes little difference – both place strain on the body. As a result, recovery is neglected. And since training and recovery go hand in hand, this approach clearly leads to a dead end.
Your goal should therefore be to organise your time in such a way that you have as much time as possible for the important things and can do them well. Focus on fewer tasks, but do them properly.
If you want to train at lunchtime, make a note of it in your calendar, have a snack two to three hours beforehand to ensure adequate energy reserves, and replenish them afterwards to support recovery.
Also plan your commuting time, main meals, snacks and working hours carefully. Above all, don't forget to schedule time for relaxation, socialising and sleep – these are just as important as all your other commitments.
Have you set yourself some goals for the new year? Do you want to have more consistency in your training, complete a half marathon or achieve new personal bests? We’ll show you what to focus on so that your good intentions don’t turn into empty promises.
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