Cycling Training: Getting Over Injuries, with Coach Stu Auckland
Injury takes many forms, be it a strain, break, pull or just a minor niggle. However whatever it is, you need to listen to your body or to those that know better - especially if you’re the type to ignore your own voice of reason!
I’m usually of the latter there for sure. I’m used to be injured with a history of throwing myself off cycles and motorcycles - get fixed, a bit of physio and crack on….. However this year has been a true practice what you preach journey from a cycling coaching perspective. Late 2017 saw an unusual head injury (not 2 wheeled related!) which initially took until early 2018 to recover from. Back into training, progressing well but then some complications arose and it was another 6 months until I was good to go again. 2018 was a write off, but hey 2019 is going to get smashed!
No one likes to miss some training or worse still have a prolonged break. You enjoy the routine, the progression, the satisfaction and you get twitchy when things go off kilter. Sometimes you can train through it or adapt your training to accommodate it but sometimes you can’t and you’ve just got to let the body work it’s magic and heal in it’s own time. It’s only then that you can resume your training and focus on your goals.
Ideally the impact is limited and full training can resume with your goals still valid. However sometimes the downtime can have a bigger impact and you need to be careful, start training slowly and build back up. This is where having a cycling or triathlon coach will help that process and manage/control all that enthusiasm! Too hard, too quickly and you could be back to square one. You may also need to factor in additional or different training to address a weakness as a result of your injury. Again a coach can help with this or point you in the right direction.
You may also need to review your cycling goals and see if they are still realistic. If you have a coach then you can review the situation with them to see what’s possible. Working back from your goals looking at the time and training load required amongst other things. They will give you a pragmatic and impartial view that will help you make an informed decision.
Don’t overlook the potential mental impact too. Whatever has happened, has happened and it can’t be changed. You need to come to terms with it, draw the positives (there are always some) and then enjoy the rebuilding process - get back to loving training again. We all love the positive pain hard training gives us!
So if you find yourself a bit busted at some point, fear not. The fact you are coming back from injury means you are already heading in a positive direction. Like training, it’s a process. Step back, work up a plan, heal up and then get back and #Smashitup
Go well in 2019.