Staying fit
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Knowing how to manage an illness can reduce your time off the bike (Pic: Roz Jones)
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Time pressed? We know the feeling. But you can still make big strides forward in your training with just a few hours on the bike a week (Pic: Media24)
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Use your free time to service your bike or pay attention to your nutrition
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If you have built up a base of fitness, you won't lose it within a few days off the bike (Pic: Tinkoff-Saxo)
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Ease back into your training, concentrating first on frequency, then the duration, and then the intensity (Pic: Joolze Dymond)
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Be honest with yourself: what will you be using the bike for? (Pic: Wiggle Dragon Ride)
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Think of the bigger picture to stay motivated when you are ill
Staying fit
Illness can be the scourge of the most rigorous and well-thought-out training plan, especially if it means time off the bike.
Colds and the flu are particularly common at this time of year and it can be difficult to stick to a training programme when you know you are not in full health.
But if treated correctly, you can be back in the saddle and flying back to full fitness before you know it and stay well on track for your target race or sportive.
Put simply, illness can be managed – and the risk of illness minimised – to ensure your training remains unimpeded.
So how do you manage a cold? When is it the right time to climb out of the saddle and take a break? And how do you plan your comeback? Stephen Gallagher of Dig Deep Coaching talks us through the dos and don’ts training when under the weather. Read on for his advice.
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