Advice on training/motivation slump

[sias]

I was hit by a car on the 21st of March (attempted murder case) and suffered some deep cuts and bruises and was out of hospital on the same day with a very sore body. 

Obviously I did not train much, but had the Maluti D90 on the 6th of April. I did the race in 6H09 which is not too bad for the conditions I think. Since then, I'm not very much in the mood for riding.

Has anyone else experienced this and what advice would you give me - keep riding or give it some more time off the bike.

I'm not really emotionally scarred by the incident (I think), my body might just not be ready yet?

[The Ouzo]

I'm certainly no expert on this, our resident expert would be @Dale going through something very similar, but my opinion, for the 2c that its worth, would be that the more time you spend off the bike the deeper that fear of being hit when on the road will get.

Perhaps set some goal to work towards, if not a race at least some personal fitness or such goals to keep you working on the bike.

[_David_]

Listen to your body take a break from riding but don't stop exercising. Go to the gym or start running just don't get lazy sitting at home, otherwise it will be very difficult to come back to riding.

Edited April 11 by _David_

[Ispeed_V]

I tore all the tendons in my Ankle beginning December last year.

Ankle fully healed but still battling the motivation bit 4 months later, so don't beat down on yourself.

 

[lechatnoir]

6 minutes ago, _David_ said:

Listen to your body take a break from riding but don't stop exercising. Go to the gym or start running just don't get lazy sitting at home, otherwise it will be very difficult to come back to riding.

^^^^ this.

I'm in a similar predicament, injury-wise at least. it's hard to stay on top of those demons and keep going as normal. baby steps and do what brings joy and what serves you best.

[HdB]

For me after CTCT this year it helped that my wife is riding more regularly now, so the Tuesday morning was just getting out on the MTB and riding with her. It wasn't some VO2 workout etc that I wouldn't feel like.

I also had TR workouts scheduled that week, all easy rides at least, but it helped that the first ride was just a nice relaxed cruise with someone else.

[JacquesJ]

54 minutes ago, sias said:

I was hit by a car on the 21st of March (attempted murder case) and suffered some deep cuts and bruises and was out of hospital on the same day with a very sore body. 

Obviously I did not train much, but had the Maluti D90 on the 6th of April. I did the race in 6H09 which is not too bad for the conditions I think. Since then, I'm not very much in the mood for riding.

Has anyone else experienced this and what advice would you give me - keep riding or give it some more time off the bike.

I'm not really emotionally scarred by the incident (I think), my body might just not be ready yet?

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[Newbie321]

 

[dave303e]

Change pace, try something new but keep moving...

If it means taking up swimming, yoga, rock climbing, something new and challenging just do it to keep moving. From there you will eventually feel the itch to ride and train hard again.

Also sitting out from my main sport(running) for the next 6 weeks minimum. Since injury I had some fun swimming sessions, got back on the bike a bit, Might even see if I can still clear everything on the motocross track. Reality is, since stopping running I have dropped in resting HR, lost 2kg, picked up other muscle tone and feeling fresh. I know when I can un again I will be excited to run again.

[Bike Dewing]

Time of year 🤷🏼‍♂️.. I’m struggling at the moment.. was lacking motivation before and then raced the emperors palace race which went really badly(so unprepared) and haven’t been able to get motivated since.. 

your body is just not ready yet.. 🤷🏼‍♂️ could be your body or mind isn’t ready yet.., Im not coming out of an accident so for me it’s just motivation but your body might be telling you something..🤙🏻

ease back into it until it feels good again.. 🥳🤘🏻

[Bike Dewing]

1 hour ago, _David_ said:

Listen to your body take a break from riding but don't stop exercising. Go to the gym or start running just don't get lazy sitting at home, otherwise it will be very difficult to come back to riding.

This.!! Is exactly me right now.. I’m climbing the walls but don’t want to go for a cycle.. I resorted to jogging with the dog the other day(I could barely walk for two days😭🤣) and going for random walks or some kind of resistance training.. 🤦‍♂️

[Frosty]

Hard luck on the actual incident. Never nice to read about it, let alone see it happen.

Motivation and expectation can be interlinked to some extent. Expectations can influence motivation by shaping what one perceives as achievable or a desirable outcome.

So you may need to lower your expectations (fitness level, duration, and effort levels) so it feels more motivating to achieve but not too low that it feels like a waste of time and motivation disappears.

Talking to others helps too, so it’s great you’re reaching out.

 

find your fun, and have fun.

[ChrisF]

Agreed, @'Dale probably has more on point and current feedback than most to add to your question.

 

If for whatever reason you are not back on the bike in a few weeks.  PLEASE do get active with something else.  But please, just keep the body moving.  Keep some form of basic fitness.  More importantly, dont loose too much muscle tone.

 

A few weeks quickly turn into a few months, and there are lots of sports to watch as you settle in in front of the big screen .....

 

I am right now spending way too much time, money and energy trying to regain muscle tone that was lost after "loosing motivation" .... school fees in the worst possible way ....

 

 

PLEASE just stay active.

 

 

Edit - I stopped cycling in 1999, due to health issues.  Only got back on a bike in 2016.  

Edited April 11 by ChrisF

[Robbie Stewart]

I dunno hey. I was very active in 20Covid and then started riding only trails on weekends. No more daily rides. My fitness and muscle tone tanked in direct proportion to the gain in girth of my waist.

This lasted for three very though years where hike a bike became the new normal whenever the trail pointed upwards.

Enter mid January 2024. I get invited to ride the Cape Town Cycle Tour. I have less than 50km in the legs for the year to date, but in a moment of madness I agree. 

Motivated to get fit enough to finish I started training again. To be fair, it was tough in the beginning, but I'm just about 2000 km in since, I've dropped TWO trouser sizes, and my muscle tone is rock hard.

This morning I managed to haul in a roadie, and then pass him, and stay ahead of him for the trip up the cycle path to Melkbos. And no, he wasn't slacking. The chap was hauling ass and I had to dig super deep to achieve and maintain the pass. My fitness increased 5 fold in that time.

So there is something to be said about dedicated training after a period of borderline inactivity. One ride of average 10km per week counts about a blip above zero in terms of training, and that is where It started from. I'm s different man today from who I was at the start of the year.

[RobertWhitehead]

I reached the peak of my slump as we hit the main road heading into the Baviaans kloof on raceday in 2022. I gave my supplies away and turned back to Willowmore. In 2023 I've only been outdoors on the bike twice, once to test solo and once to test along with two other riders. 

My point: everyone will have a different recovery rate and opinion, only you will know when you want to get back out there. 

[DieselnDust]

Everyone's story above is worth reading and considering. The challenge for everyone commenting is none of us have walked your in your shoes so theres not going to be a definitive answer from anyone. Your solution is unique to you.

 

1. The human body takes longer to recover from trauma than we realise. Sometimes motivational slumps are triggered by the body telling the brain to tell the Ou holding the bars to just slow down.

2. Motivation itself is the outcome of a desire to achieve something. Have you considered adjusting your goals? Take some pressure off yourself, focus on something more fun. For me it was getting back into kayaking and goat boat surfing, spending more time watching my kid play waterpolo, just a change of pace rather just chasing intervals and the next race.

3. How much time do you create for yourself? is it really enough? What are the other stresses that could be stacking up to make the leisure time on the bike a drag?

4. Are you absolutely sure the accident hasn't instilled a suppressed fear of riding? explore this because I went through this last year and when I got hit by car it did leave a scar that i painted over. That didn't make anything better till I confronted it and made a change. ( I bought a Varia)