7 Tips for when you are feeling burnout
Hey Athletes!
Last week our FitRiders hit an incredible milestone… 200,000 active minutes in 2022! Wow! That is even more impressive when you know that the logs are coming from less than a dozen regular loggers. Summer seems to have been quite friendly for our riders, and they are making the most of it. As I tally up their logs daily, I am inspired to keep up my routine. Community makes a difference!
Now, that is a lot of minutes. Its totally possible by this point in the year that many of us are feeling burnout. This might be in our riding, our workouts, work, or really any other aspect of life.
I want to give you some quick tips now that can help with burnout, no matter where you are feeling it. Apply these tips generously anywhere in your life where you could use a little extra motivation.
1) Identify the cause - is it an injury? Exhaustion? When was the last time you took a proper rest? Ask yourself what you think the cause is and then knock it back and forth like you are on the highschool debate team. Understanding the root cause is critical to true transformation! Treat the cause not the symptom right?
2) Make it fun again - try doing the activity without a goal or agenda. Try adding music. Switch up your route or your sequence. Bring a friend along. Try a completely different activity (IE if you have been doing a ton of trail, why not try an obstacle course). Check in with yourself and see if you can reconnect or rediscover your “why”
3) Create mindfulness with intention - go back to your “why” from #2, set an intention at the start of each ride, workout, or workday. Have you ever been to a yoga class where the instructor had you set a mantra or intention for the class? Maybe you want to work through a problem you are struggling with, maybe you want to go back to basics. Whatever it is copy, paste, and apply!
4) Aim for a small win - When you can succeed at something, you enjoy what you felt successful at. Work back from the big picture… go smaller, still smaller, one or two rungs down now. Good. Get that teeniest of tiniest goals done, hit your body with that serotonin, and enjoy its effects. Repeat as necessary!
5) Evaluate your process - step back and ask what is working and what isn’t. Is there something you have been drilling at but haven’t seen progress? Is there another way to go about doing this? Is there someone like a coach you can ask for help? What about intensity, duration, frequency? Does your schedule actually work or does it leave you with overwhelm?
6) Set your own goal - is there something you are working towards because it is expected of you or you got pulled into someone elses ride? You might be surprised how frequently we get caught up with other people’s goals because we haven’t set our own and it is easier to draft off someone else. Or maybe you are pursuing something because it is the conventional “next step.” Take a look at the end destination you are currently headed, was that where you wanted to go when you started? Is it what you still want now?
7) Work with a coach - a good coach will be your #1 cheerleader. They can help you when things aren’t going right. A coach can give you a plan that is monitored, individualized and realistic. A coach can keep you accountable on the days when your motivation wanes (If you want to know about our coaching packages, click here!)
I know, that sounds like a lot and is an existential crisis in of itself, but you would be surprised how easily it goes. If you are someone who loves to journal, you can use these thoughts and prompts.
If you aren’t into that, take 2-5 minutes before you start to consider some of these questions. Maybe spend a little extra time with that curry comb while pondering it or slow down your warmup. Hell, you might have already answered these questions in your mind just reading this newsletter (in which case, save this for any time you need it!)
You may find that these questions slip in and out on a regular basis. The more you practice this, the more they will naturally find their way into your thoughts each time you hit that brick wall. You might already be taking most of these steps already, now is your chance to go deeper!
Ok, that’s enough soul searching today! Now get out and get it!
-Sarah