Now that school’s out and the summer holidays are here it can be easy to get distracted from working towards your sporting goals. Therefore, having a plan for your summer training is vital. You don’t want all the hard work you put in over the past year to go to waste.
However, here’s the thing: to keep learning and improving you don’t need to be doing the same volume of training as during your season. Nor do you need to be doing exactly the same types of exercises and activities that you usually do.
Here are 7 ways to keep your training interesting and on track over the summer:
- Focus on quality not quantity
More is not always better. Just because you have more time on your hands during the day doesn’t mean you need to fill it up. Focusing on quality whilst you train will ensure you maximise your training results.
2. Train first thing in the morning
Make routine your friend. It’s very easy to get distracted during the holidays by your friends who are doing cool and exciting things. Remove this distraction by training first thing in the morning. You’ll be done and dusted before your mates get out of bed.
However, remember to get to bed at a reasonable hour, training on less than 9 hours sleep can negatively impact your performance.
3. Get a training partner
Having a friend train with you will keep you motivated and push you harder to improve your performance. Make sure you’re of similar ability and working towards related goals to maximise the effectiveness of the partnership.
4. Get adventurous outdoors
Summer is the perfect time to get out and explore new places. Find a new walking track to run along, complete a bodyweight strength circuit while visiting the beach, or, when away on holiday, discover a new part of the countryside via a mountain bike.
5. Eat better by understanding your environment
The environment you put yourself will affect the nutritional decisions you make. When you’re at home all day (and potentially bored) it’s easy to eat just because food is there. A fully-packed fridge of delicious food is hard to turn down.
Trips out at night with your friends will often see you buying fast food for dinner. Where you end up going will determine what options you’ll have to choose from – good or bad.
On the other hand, when you’re busy doing holiday stuff like spending all day at the beach, it can be easy to not eat enough.
6. Learn how to dance
When was the last time you did some cross training with something you’ve never done before? Focusing on something different can add new skills to your repertoire that can help your game in ways you never thought possible.
7. Challenge yourself with something new
Summer is a great time to try something new without the fear of failure or letting someone important to you down. Spend time getting comfortable with the uncomfortable – it will definitely pay off in your long-term development.
