COVID 19 - Let Us Support You (Summary Notes of Zoom Meeting on March 27th)
Athletes - hope your weekends are finding some ground. THANK you to those of you that could jump on the call with us last night.
It was great to see such participation. While the original idea came from my work with Dixie Devils, we wanted to open it up to all Brite athletes and our community to launch the conversations about Training & Performance given our current reality.
For anyone interested, here is a snap shot of the discussion:
Considerations essential to the Endurance Athlete:
Community & Connectivity is vital to mental well-being. Develop yours and nurture it. Lean in and operate with openness and kindness. The world will honour these acts of engagement.Training & Performance takes on a new meaning. What was a chase for improvements in performance metrics has now evolved into health, resilience and developing you as a whole athlete (weaknesses, strength, foundational expansion) so long as it is done purposefully, progressively and within the context of your reality. Your training behaviours will help you avoid random exercising and keep you in sync with your long term performance objectives.Social Media & Virtual Training Platforms are powerful sources for connections and sharing. Use them appropriately and for what you need.Endurance Athletes Principles apply now, more than ever. As endurance athletes, we are equipped with the tools to navigate challenges, problem solve, consider alternatives, thrive and look after our needs (nutrition, recovery, sleep, movement, strength). These principles have never mattered more.We Will All Get Through This. This new reality will pass and when it does, we will be stronger and more resilient for it thanks in some part to our ongoing commitment to training and maintaining a sense of structure in our lives. In the meantime, our global acceptance and our ability to adapt to this new reality will lift us to new and greater levels when we did kick out the other side.
Specific Discussion Topics related to Training:Training for us all was something we were doing on a regular basis. It was normal and routine. Now we have chaos and confusion in the world. The best defense against uncertainty is to continue on with some sense of normalcy, routine and daily structure. Use your training as that AND keep space in your lives for this important time blocked off to train.Training is now about developing great resilience and supporting our health. The lens shifts away from the events we were preparing for and moves towards a much deeper meaning. Allow purposeful training to bolster you both physically and mentally. The benefits of this may not been seen today but they will definitely be evident in a few months from now.Training time has been gifted to all of us. USE THIS TIME. Many wisely guided athletes are now stepping back and taking advantage of this time to really develop a deep base, strengthen their posture or work on metabolic or mechanical aspects of the sport. We will see some remarkable performances later in the year. Be in the game for that when racing is back on. Training Set Up – use this next week to get set up in your home with a) space b) gear c) towels/fan d) technical connections (Zwift, tablets, devices, speakers etc) e) a sense of flow (posters, visuals and anything you need to ground your training and inspire the mind).Start fresh today, tomorrow or Monday with your new path with a new set or variables. We are here to support you.
Strength:Many of you have questions about Strength programs and protocol.PLEASE PLEASE let me know if you are not training with us currently or contact Gina Grain (cc’d in this email) as Gina has recently developed an At-Home Program specific to our reality. She is ready to help you get dialled with Strength.
If you would like to participate in any group workouts on Zwift, please follow me on Zwift Christine Fletcher (Brite) so I can invite you to Meet Ups and Events.
My hope from these initiatives is for you all to take away a renewed meaning of training & performance along with gusto to find your solid ground after you dust off from the haze, configure your environment to embrace training, shift your mindset to this new reality and your new training circumstances and finally commit to being purposeful, progressive and athlete/performance driven vs exercise random with a sense of flailing. You will show up a much clearer person in your world and heaven knows we need as many clear minds as possible right now.if you are being coached by Brite right now, then trust us when we say, we have you and are plotting daily to methodically change directions and take great advantage of this newfound time.
Please look after each other. We are going to get through this. Stay committed to your dreams and goals. We are allowed to continue to chase our dreams while we navigate this crazy pandemic especially since we have been asked to stay home and far from people in the physical form.Looking forward,Christine Fletcher & Britni Bakk