Winning an F1 race isn’t just about who can drive the fastest.
It’s also about who has the best handling skills…
The best race management…
And the best pitstops.
The average Grand Prix is just over 190 miles.
And we all know, we could drive a car for 190 miles without needing to change tyres, top up the fuel or do any maintenance.
But trying to win an F1 race without doing all this would be disastrous.
And that’s because, aside from anything else, pitstops are a chance to just check the cars are still performing at their best.
Doesn’t matter whether you’re in a McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, or any of the other cars -- If you go out expecting to win without going into the pits, you’re doomed to fail.
These cars are finely tuned machines, and need to complete a whole race at their very best.
You can’t just wave that chequered flag, then cross your fingers and hope.
And we want a similar approach when training for triathlon.
If you expect to just be able to train and train and train, or race and race and race without ever taking a “pitstop,” things are going to go south, pretty fast.
Training by its very nature, breaks the body down.
We need that breakdown to improve.
It’s far from a bad thing.
But it can also take its toll.
And it doesn’t take much for the wrong training plan to really beat your body into the ground.
Especially if you have other stress going on in life.
Maybe your job or your business is particularly demanding for a while, with deadline after deadline.
Perhaps you’re dragging yourself through every day bleary-eyed and exhausted, because the kids aren’t sleeping.
Or you could be tackling all manner of work, relationship or family issues.
These all take their toll on your physical and mental recovery, too.
When you add the wrong training plan on top, it’s a recipe for disaster.
So whatever level you’re at -- beginner, intermediate or advanced -- you need regular pitstops.
A pitstop could be a lower volume training plan, replacing high-intensity or high-impact sessions with easier ones, or even a full week off.
Everyone’s different.
I can’t tell you exactly what’s best for you in this email.
But what I CAN tell you, is that we all need regular checks to make sure our fuel is topped up, our tyres are nice and grippy, and our engine isn’t going to burst into flames anytime soon.
Metahporically of course!
If you’re not sure what that might look like for you…
Or maybe if you’ve just been feeling totally burned out and exhausted from your training, or you’re just not getting fitter and stronger -
With Plans+, you get to pick from our huge library of programs, all written by Olympic standard coaches…
And then you get personalised feedback and support, to make sure you’re working hard enough, but not overdoing it.
Essentially, the Browlee Fitness coaches are the pitstop crew to your Verstappen, Alonso or Hamilton.
To find out more, just click here.
Pete,
Brownlee Fitness