6 Tips For Avoiding Mid-Season Burnout in Cycling

Ever get to that stage in the competitive season where the motivation is gone, training isn't going great and your results are not what they were early in the season? Well, you may be suffering from a case of mid-season burnout.

Now, I am writing this in the perspective of a cyclist, participating in BMX Racing and Mountain Bike competitions near enough every week during the summer months. The longest stretch of racing I have dealt with this season was 9 weeks straight. Naturally, this began to take its toll on my body and I had to make a few training adjustments to stay on top of my game. These are my six tips to ensure you have a full season in you...

NOTE: This post may be based around cycling, but that is not to say the points I will raise throughout this would not to apply to a variety of different competitive sports where competitions are weekly.

1. Recognise the Signs of Burnout

Fatigue is a natural part of intense training and naturally you will feel a little tired after a long race weekend, but this is not something that should be felt for days/weeks on end. Try to identify the signs that you are becoming over worked early on. These include:

• A decline in performance - results and training numbers dropping off

• Increased resting heart rate - a sign that your body is under recovered

• Poor sleep quality - restless nights

• Low energy levels

• Unexplained weight loss

• Getting ill more frequently

It is important to recognise these symptoms early on to allow you to take the necessary steps to prevent falling into a deeper rut!

2. Compensate for Additional Stresses in Your Training

This particularly applies to the gym side of training. If you are experienced, being able to progress linearly in-season is increasingly difficult due to varying levels of fatigue from competition demands.

This is why I tend to lean towards prescribing predominantly Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) based training for athletes during race season. This allows your workload to be more subjective to how you feel on a given day rather than chasing specific numbers and grinding the weights out when they are not moving well. If you're in a hectic block of races, consider working at lower RPE's as well to maximise recovery and focus more on bar speed rather than weight lifted.

3. Prioritise Recovery Protocols

This is not something exclusive to race season, and should be taken seriously all year round, but it is of particular importance when recovery is becoming more difficult. I am mainly talking about fundamentals here such as nutrition, sleep and hydration. When there is a fine line between optimal and over-training, having these areas out of sync may be what tips you into the latter bracket.

Where possible, try to aim for 7-9 hours sleep per night (ideally towards the upper end of that scale) and ensure you're taking in a balanced diet. Post-competition or training, ensure you are taking in meals rich in carbohydrates and protein to replenish muscle glycogen and kickstart the recovery process.

4. Consider a Mid-Season Break

This is not a necessity for everyone but a good consideration if you are feeling a little rundown at the end of a long block. If you have had a period of several races in a row, and find yourself with a free weekend, consider a complete week out from training. Take a few days to rest. Hang the bike up completely for a few days and avoid any other training. Then, if you want to get out, go and have a couple of fun sessions on the bike with no structure so that you can come back fully refreshed.

5. Categorise Your Events

It is important to know which events you want to be at your absolute best for. The competitive season is long, normally spanning at least 7 months. It is unrealistic to be able to maintain absolute peak performance for the duration of this time, so you need to know when you can dial your training back and little bit and where you should be ramping up the intensity.

When going through your race calendar, something I love to do is categorise your events into A, B and C class events and this dictates how you will perform your training around them:

• C Events: These events a treated like an extra training session. Train through these as normal as coming in with a little fatigue is not the end of the world (e.g. club/regional races)

• B Events: Still not much change in training leading up to the event, but allow extra recovery either side of the race to minimise fatigue (e.g. national series rounds)

• A Events: Select 2-3 of these per year. These are your peak races. Training is centred around being at your best for these particular events, with intensity ramping up and utilising a taper coming into the event (e.g. National/International Championships)

6. Investing in a Coach

It is easy as an athlete to think that more work is better, but there is an optimal amount of training to yield the best results while managing fatigue. An experienced coach will be able to read your performances and how your training is going to cater this workload to your capacity.

A coach is not just someone pushing you to give your best in training and competition, they can also be someone to tell you when it is time to back off a gear and recognise when you need to adjust your training.

If you are interested in hiring a coach to maximise your physical performance for your chosen sport, I am currently taking on new athletes. To learn more, visit the link below:

BMX/4X Training