Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Fitting it all in

I am having a hard time balancing my workout schedule. I want to follow a run 3/ bike 2/ swim 2 schedule, as well as take time for BodyPump class at least once a week, and yoga/Pilate's here and there. AND, at least one complete REST day.

Am I the only one that has a hard time balancing this out?

I am finding myself double stacking some days just so I can get in adequate rest as well. I know that this can be a part of a typical triathlete schedule, but, if I could, I only want to do 2-a-days two times a week, if at all possible. The day after I do BodyPump, I like to bike or swim just to loosen the legs, so I have to keep that in mind. Plus, I need to schedule around weekends that I am out of town and what is available to me during those weekends.

Is there an easy way to do all this? I find myself constantly looking this over, adjusting, and then end up missing a run, bike, or swim workout. I know I am not training for anything YET, but I would like to find some routine in my schedule.

Suggestions? Thoughts? Ideas? Do you follow a consistent schedule, or are you finding yourself switching it up a bit each week?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I try to make a schedule. Well, I do make a schedule. I just don't always follow it. I think have a consistent schedule is a good starting point, but you have to be able to adjust week by week depending on what you have going on and how you're feeling.

tripolii31 said...

I have 0 words of wisdom. Have been trying to do a tri for 2 years now and it doesnt seem to happen. B/W 2 year old and working for a bankrupt company just not happening. Hoping the economy picks back up so work load lessens. Good luck to you.

J said...

I have been doing two a days with runs and biking and I am so tired! I think I may give up swimming for the winter because there is just not enough time right now and I really enjoying taking classes at the gym!

Pining for Pinterest said...

I was just thinking of this today. I need to sit down and write out a schedule for myself of times and when I will complete things. Between school, home, family, and training... things can get tough and I feel like there is not a lot of DOWN time. Once you find out the answer, let me know :-)

justme said...

i always plan my workouts for the week on sunday evening so, i need to this based in the kids as well as class times.

my only suggestion about double up days is in the summer I did bricks on the weekend and that took care of a run and a bike, i was only concerned with doing everything twice a week, it is hard, i just realize i miss out on something ....i signed up for a tri class at my gym and that should be interesting

Carly said...

I have a calendar that I write all my workouts on. Actually, I enter what I would like to do on the computer and then print it out. Then, when I complete a workout, I write what I did (how long, how far, etc.) Currently I'm on a training plan so I have about 3 mos. of workouts planned, but I think it helps to see it all on paper!

Unknown said...

it gets a lot easier for me when its warm enough to run outside in teh morning and/or light enough in the evening to ride my bike. until then, fitting all that in is nearly impossible

Lily on the Road said...

Unless you're sponsored or going for Gold, make your schedule manageable for you, otherwise it will become overwhelming and you'll just not.do.it.at.all

...or you'll get totally burned out before race season. Just my humble opinion...

Carolina John said...

while you're not training for a specific event is when you want to finalize the plan and schedule. 3/2/2 plus a body pump and we'll say 2 yoga's is 10 workouts per week total. should be very do-able over a 6 day schedule.

the body pump should be the same time each week, so that one's easy. plus your 3rd run i bet is a long run, and that should be the same time each week as well, usually saturday. just fill in the rest of the holes from there.

i do it by day. monday tp/swim/bike. tuesday yoga/bike/tempo run. wednesday tp/long swim/run speedwork...... i can email you a spreadsheet with my schedule if you want a copy. but it was something that took more time than I expected to plan out. and i didn't plan any bricks = bad tri guy.

Anonymous said...

Seems everyone is writing about balance these days...including me! I find it tough and in order to make it work, it takes sacrifice. To me, it is always worth it. When it stops being worth it, I will probably stop having the motivation to do it. For me, I MUST have a schedule though. I am always writing schedules!

Shannon said...

Looks like people had some great advise for you. I am not a triathlete so I don't feel the pressure to work in so many different activities. But in my daily life,I am always writing schedules for myself to make my to-do list feel more manageable.

Iron Jayhawk said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Iron Jayhawk said...

During the off season I'm all about maintenance. If a two-a-day gets missed. No big deal. So my main goal is to avoid burnout before my training really kicks in. Right now, a 3/2/2 schedule is totally doable. But it's also January. What will your final training program look like when things really start to kick in? Consider that and make tweaks from there.

Right now I'm on a 1/2/3 for s/b/r because at the moment, my first big race is a half marathon. So swimming and biking are essentially for maintenance and running will be my focus.

During the build phases in prep for races, I'll move mountains to make sure things get fit in. But for now...if I miss a track workout because of work, because of good smut TV, or even because I'm just too tired...it's okay.

I'm also one of the folks who considers yoga an okay activity on a rest day (unless you're doing some crazy program or bikram).

Bob Hazen said...

I've dne both - rigid schedules and then what I call 'freestyling'. A good mix of both tend to help me. Ususally duing the off-season I freestyle. I have a mileage plan that I do but its a weekly goal rather than a day-to-day schedule. Usually when Im doing this I'll add a mile here and they just depending how I feel during a current run.

When I'm prepping for a race, I usually follow an 8-16 week plan, but even then I'll switch things up to keep my body guessing. As long as you get in the speedwork, and recovery days you will be ok.

Your recovery days could be your slow long days. Keep your running/swimming/cycling pace very slow - you'll get in the mileage you need along with the time out on the road. Remember long slow miles are better than sitting on your butt. :) A half hour is better than nothing - once you're out th door thats when you can add the extra loop you need.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

Trying to balnace everything is a challege. You have a ton of stuff going on. My only advice is sit down and try to map it all out. I also pick and choose what I don't mind missing. For example, if I know I am going to be busy or have to shuffle the schedule around, I'll skip strength and core training and either ride or run.

Best of luck. Tell us how it goes.

Being Robinson said...

fitting it all in IS hard. i have a pretty ambitious workout schedule right now too, but i know it will only be for a few months and i'll back off. the only way i get it done is the fact that i get yoga or a run or weights in over lunch. and also, working out is my social hour with my girlfriends, so i sort of feel like it's killing to birds with one stone. so that is what keeps me on track!

but it sounds like you are doing great, and don't be hard on yourself if you miss something. we are only human after all!

Jess said...

I try to have some kind of schedule, but I find that I'm always having to change things up depending on the week and I'm only trying to fit running and some weights in. I don't know how you tri-athletes manage to do it!

Jess said...

This is why I only run :)

MCM Mama said...

Well, I balance it all by not biking or swimming. ;o)

Seriously though, that is a pretty challenging schedule. I almost have the urge to sit down and treat it like a math problem and figure it out for you. Almost.

I'm just trying to fit in four runs and one or two crosstraining sessions and I barely manage that most weeks.

Runner Leana said...

Balance is hard, and by August 29th I may be the queen of it...or else I'll have failed miserably. We'll see!

It sounds like you are trying to do quite a bit but I do have a few thoughts. You can combine swimming with almost any other workout since it uses different muscles and it won't wipe you out as much. Try going for a run, then hopping in the pool. I do this a lot on the weekends. Try a brick - spin, then a 20 minute run off the bike. Or run for 20 minutes before body pump. I've mostly given up on yoga because it just doesn't fit in with my schedule.

You can also try alternating body pump with a run every other week if it gets to be too much. You can still do a short strength workout of lunges, squats, push ups, tricep dips and step ups after your run to still get some strength training in.

Hope that helps!

RunToTheFinish said...

sounds like why i stick to just running... I can't figure out how all that is supposed to happen!

Badgergirl said...

I've been flying by the seat of my pants, which probably isn't good. I should really sit down and try to come up with some plan to follow. I might follow the advice of some of the commentors from above.

Good luck with figuring out a schedule!

Marlene said...

I've been having similar struggles trying to figure out how to squeeze in the mileage and keep up the cross-training that I took up while I had backed off the running. I still haven't quite figured out how I'm going to make this work...

Kristen said...

Story of my life! I always have a well laid plan and end up switching it up each week. I always figure though as long as I get the workouts in that is all that matters - even if it is more stressful that way.