5 Habits That May Help Your Next Training Block

by GRP Biathlete Luke Brown

This won’t be revolutionary. But perhaps it may be a bit interesting and provide just a gentle nudge for you to do a quick inventory of the habits you’ve developed over the last chunk of your life to see if they are helping move you to your goals. 

I will confess, I’m a habits guy. I love process and routine. I pride myself on being dialed in on what I’m doing and eating and drinking and thinking pre- and post-workout. I cherish my bedtime routine. A good morning walk is right up my alley. I’ve flossed every day for years. But there are also standard habits I’ve never been able to nail down: making my bed in the morning often eludes me; I let my training log get days behind; I can only read the news for like 3 days in a row and then the asymptote of my current event’s knowledge approaches 0. 

But one of the beautiful things about humans is that we’re all different. The habits that I can’t figure out you may be absolutely nailing. Maybe you have processes that I’ve never even thought about and would love to implement if I knew about them. If that’s the case, please write a blog so I can learn.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” - James Clear, Atomic Habits. 

This is a catchy quote that makes me think. It’s a combination of motivating and plain realistic. We can achieve our goals, but only if the systems we have in place rise up to the level of our goals. Now, there is nuance here. In the process and outcome goals framework that I’ve learned, “systems” are really our process goals that then help us achieve our outcome goals. So I’ll take this as motivation to dial in my process goals and maybe you’ll join me.

Each training block, I write out a few of these systems goals that I believe will help me on my way to achieving my outcome goals that are a little more dreamy. Here are a few of them that I really believe in:

1. Write out training schedule and each day’s plan beforehand.

Each Sunday, I sit down and sketch out a little calendar on a piece of paper and work through my training plan for the week. I do this whether I’ve gotten a training plan from a coach or am building one myself as it allows me to get a better visual grasp on what is happening and also allows me to add personal details into my training plan. I know for some, doing this digitally makes a lot more sense. Do what works best for you to make a plan in a way that you enjoy and lets you return to it easily. Mine goes up on my fridge. 

I’ll add here that I think a similar process helps for each individual training session. You may have 400 track repeats on your calendar, but before that session, I’d write out: 

“20 min warm up with 5 min tempo, 5 min drills and dynamic stretching, 4 strides, then 2 sets of 4x400m at 5:30 mile pace with 1 min rest in between. Goals: relax shoulders, be ready to hit the splits on the first rep, fall back on your ‘relax and flow’ mantra.”

I’ve found that if I just make a plan like this in my head, I’ll either change it mid-workout or it will take longer as I add time or activities here and there and in the end it just won’t feel as professional and productive. 

2. Pack your bag the night before

I don’t think I have to explain this one too much, but I learned this one from a teammate as they were trying to figure out how to get to practice on time. The answer: start the night before. Packing your bag the night before with everything you need: water, snacks, gear, change of clothes, will help you get out the door that much faster in the morning to seize the day. 

3. Prep meals and snacks for the week

As I wrote at the beginning of this article, nothing revolutionary here, just little nudges and reminders. My last big training block, my wife and I ended up eating at like 8:00pm most nights because my second workout would go long and she was working and then training too. I also got tired of having so many bars for my workout snacks so this week, we planned to make muffins and prepare some frozen burritos for quick dinners. Or lunches. Maybe breakfasts to be honest. 

4. Stack some important morning habits - mobility and hydration

Who doesn’t love a good habit stack! This is when you just add a goal habit onto something that you already do every day. When you get out of bed, say something you’re thankful for. When you put on your shoes, do 3 deep squats. After you shower, brush your teeth. Right after you set your alarm, take 5 deep breaths with a slow exhale. For me, the important ones here are often mobility and hydration. Recently, when I get out of bed, I drink a half glass of water. And I add mobility to brushing my teeth - some calf and achilles stretches. Maybe I learned this idea from my mom, who always does calf raises while she’s pumping gas. Go Mom!

5. Do a post workout reflection.

To squeeze the most out of an important workout, I find that answering a few simple questions about the workout for myself and my coach is productive. What went well? What could have gone better? Ideas for improvement or what to work on next time? If I answer these questions, I cement the things I am proud of which is both just fun and important for confidence, I have an opportunity to feel out the things that didn’t go well and then orient those feelings into future potential and moving forward. And, I’m able to look back at these things before my next workout to remind myself how to do better. 

As I wrote at the beginning, none of these habits are new or will be a one easy trick to find success. You may already be doing most or all of them. If that’s the case, what’s one new habit or practice you’ve been wanting to implement and just haven’t found the motivation or time to try yet? Maybe this week, stack it onto something you already do every day or simply use this article as motivation to just do it. Just for one week, everyday, and then reevaluate whether you want to keep it around. You can do it!