{"id":175409,"date":"2019-09-13T12:06:26","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T12:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=175409"},"modified":"2019-10-08T07:53:12","modified_gmt":"2019-10-08T07:53:12","slug":"dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/09\/13\/dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Let the Bad Days Get You Down: Tips for Staying Positive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Everyone has bad days on the bike, days when you can\u2019t make it up a hill you\u2019ve climbed dozens of times before or get dropped from the group unexpectedly. Maybe you feel completely flattened by a ride you thought you\u2019d manage easily and are nervous about facing the same challenge again. Well, as any experienced cyclist will tell you, these days happen to everyone.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They strike without rhyme or reason and with absolutely no regard for your cycling goals or training plan. The important thing is finding ways to beat the negativity and find the motivation to ride again. No doubt that can be easier said than done, but here are some tips to help you understand those sluggish days and give yourself the strength to keep going.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Make sure you\u2019ve ticked all the boxes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First things first, make sure you\u2019re doing everything in your power to set yourself up well for a ride. If you have trained suitably, paced according to your ability,\u00a0eaten\u00a0and\u00a0hydrated well,\u00a0recovered\u00a0from your last ride and\u00a0worn appropriate clothing, you should be able to avoid having a bad day most of the time. However, even if you\u2019ve adhered to every best practice and avoided some of the other\u00a0classic mistakes, like poor bike maintenance or saddle position, you can still sometimes find yourself grinding to a halt.<\/p>\n

Appreciate that your body is telling you something<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019ve tried slowing down and refuelling, yet your body is still screaming for a break, you should listen. Although it might be telling you something you don\u2019t want to hear, it\u2019s worth taking a moment to appreciate how amazing it is that our bodies find ways of communicating with us at all. There\u2019s a fine line between pushing yourself to perform and recognising that today simply is not your day. It is important to be able to take a step back and keep the big picture in mind. A bad day doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s all unravelling. Ignoring your body when it\u2019s begging you to stop is what could end up damaging your ability to ride, not missing one training session.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Understand that hormones always play a role\u2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For women in particular, energy levels can fluctuate a lot throughout the month due to hormones. Stacy Sims, author of ROAR, a physiology-based nutrition and training guide designed for active women likes to say\u2014 \u2018women are not small men,\u2019 and how true it is. The book is about teaching women to adapt nutrition, hydration, and training to their unique physiology, learning to work with, rather than against, female physiology. \u00a0For example, during \u2018high-hormone phases\u2019\u2014a few days before getting a period\u2014things like building muscle, recovery and staying hydrated become much more difficult. It doesn\u2019t mean your menstrual cycle has to stop you from riding, but understanding what\u2019s going on inside your body can make it a lot easier to plan for and accept changing energy levels.<\/p>\n

\u2026and affect everyone<\/strong><\/h2>\n

That being said, hormones affect men too and can also have a significant impact on women at any time throughout the month. Cortisol, the stress hormone, has the ability to make you feel absolutely exhausted, even if you\u2019re not currently feeling tensed or stressed out. A couple of hours driving, less sleep, or a busy day juggling lots of stuff could all contribute to an increase in cortisol levels. In order to figure out what factors impact you most, it\u2019s a good idea to track performance and recovery so you can, over time, learn what makes you tired and adjust your training expectations accordingly.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Know that you can always blame the weather<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re sure you\u2019ve done everything right and are healthy and well-rested, knowing that the elements are always working for or against you can provide some comfort. Even the slightest change in humidity or a breeze can make a big difference, you don\u2019t need to be battling gale-force winds to have your ride effected. You might have thought you were just heading out for a causal ride, but biking into a strong wind can cause it to be seriously challenging. Sudden changes in temperature can also put the body under stress, increasing your heart rate and pushing your muscles to tire more easily. Accept that you can\u2019t do anything about the weather and just be grateful for those perfect mornings when the sun felt incredible and the wind was at your back.<\/p>\n

Remind yourself that you love cycling because it is challenging<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cycling can be tough, but that is probably one of the reasons why you love it. Know that every hard day presents an opportunity to learn something new and improve. If you\u2019re in the middle of a long ride and start feeling sluggish, break up the rest of the route into manageable chunks. Make the top of the next climb, or even the next bend in the road your goal. Take it one step at a time and know that even the pros have off days. Remember that any form of exercise must reflect the rhythms of our bodies and that a hill ‘push’ is still a heck of a lot better than sitting on the sofa!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone has bad days on the bike, days when you can\u2019t make it up a hill you\u2019ve climbed dozens of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":175411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329,334],"tags":[3592,3591],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-175409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","category-socialising-and-culture","tag-cycling-motivation","tag-positive-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t Let the Bad Days Get You Down: Tips for Staying Positive - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Everyone has bad days on the bike, days when you can\u2019t make it up a hill you\u2019ve climbed dozens of times before or get dropped from the group unexpectedly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/09\/13\/dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t Let the Bad Days Get You Down: Tips for Staying Positive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Everyone has bad days on the bike, days when you can\u2019t make it up a hill you\u2019ve climbed dozens of times before or get dropped from the group unexpectedly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/09\/13\/dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-13T12:06:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-10-08T07:53:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2019\/09\/Cycling-Group-CVR-profimedia-0374728776.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Megan Flottorp\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/09\/13\/dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/09\/13\/dont-let-the-bad-days-get-you-down-tips-for-staying-positive\/\",\"name\":\"Don\u2019t Let the Bad Days Get You Down: Tips for Staying Positive - 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