Keep It Fun: Making the Most of Your Off Season

Your racing's done for the year, so now's the time to enjoy your training again. Here's how I'd approach this time of year, plus a few things worth keeping on top of before winter.

A lot of you will have finished your racing for the year now. The races are done, the challenges are finished and hopefully you've achieved a few of the goals you set yourself at the start of the season.

For me, this time of year should be about one thing more than anything else: enjoyment.

**Do the training you want to do**

My biggest tip is to do the training you want to do, rather than the training you feel like you should be doing.

If that means missing a couple of swim sessions for a few weeks, that's absolutely fine. If you fancy going out for a long bike ride with no intervals and no real structure, do it. If you want to swap a road ride for the mountain bike, gravel bike or cyclocross bike, even better.

You've probably spent most of the year following a plan, hitting sessions and preparing for races. You don't need to be quite as structured at this time of year.

**Keep it fun**

This is probably the most important point.

Can you go mountain biking? Get the cross bike out? Ride with a group you don't normally have time to join? Try a different sport?

You still want to stay active and maintain some fitness, but that doesn't mean every session needs a purpose or a number attached to it.

Sometimes it's good just to go out and enjoy training again.

**Don't forget your strength work**

One thing I wouldn't neglect is your gym and strength and conditioning.

It's very easy to finish the season, relax and let this disappear completely. But this is actually a great opportunity to work on your strength without having to worry about being tired for a race at the weekend.

Keeping some consistent strength work in now can also help you stay robust and hopefully reduce the chances of picking up injuries when the training volume starts increasing again in a few months' time.

**Start getting ready for winter**

It's also a good time to start thinking about how you're going to make winter training as easy as possible.

We'll cover winter training in more detail soon, but start with the simple things. Get your winter bike sorted. Put the mudguards on. Check your lights. Dig out the winter kit and make sure you've actually got everything you need.

The easier you make it to get out of the door when it's cold, wet and dark, the more likely you are to actually do it.

**Give yourself something to look forward to**

Finally, start thinking about your goals for the winter and next season.

That doesn't necessarily mean you need to choose all your races now. It could simply be putting something in the diary that gives you a bit of motivation.

Could you book a [training camp somewhere warm](https://brownleefitness.com/training-camp)? Plan a weekend away riding with friends? Enter an early season event or set yourself a winter challenge?

Having something on the horizon can make those darker winter months much easier.

For now, though, don't worry too much about numbers, pace or perfect training.

Stay active, do the things you enjoy and keep training fun.

There'll be plenty of time for the serious stuff later.

**Come and train with me in the sun**

If a camp somewhere warm sounds like the thing to get you through the winter, I'll be running our Brownlee Fitness training camp in Costa Blanca this February at Albir Garden Resort. It's swimming, cycling and running in the sun with a great group of people, and it's a brilliant thing to have in the diary when you're out riding in the cold and wet. Spaces are limited, so if you fancy joining me, [have a look at the camp and apply here](https://brownleefitness.com/training-camp).