I have just recently switched from a physically demanding job in which I was on my feet a majority of the day to a new position that is far less demanding physically and requires me to be sedentary for the most part.
I always felt (and hoped) the physical aspect of my old job aided me in training because the cumulative and moderate activity made me more fit. However, since the switch my training sessions have been amazing in that I feel much better physically and mentally during and after the workouts.
I’m thinking the new sedentary aspect of my life is giving me more recovery and is going to make me a better triathlete?
What is your own experience as it relates to your job/training?
BETTER!!! I’m a Police Officer, We know our schedule 14-months ahead. I can plan MY LIFE, and days off. Midnight shift 3-times per year (4-weeks). Some of my best rides are during the day when there’s no traffic. When I’m on 4-on-4-off, I could schedule a day off and end up have 5-total days off! I love it! Gym, shower, eat, ride, shower, eat. RELAX! If it rains I can chill 2 days straight watching a movie, eat pizza, the do a 60-miler the next day
Having a physical job does mean that you compromise recovery if you’re going to add training on top of it. Not to mention, all of the exercise associated with work probably didn’t help you at all in developing the muscular and cardio adaptations that make for good triathletes. I would say that having a sedentary job is the best thing for any athlete who wants to perform at a high level, because then you can focus ALL of your physical activity toward your sport.
Depends on how much you’re training. If you are training very little, then the extra physical demands of the job might be a plus. If you’re training a fair amount, then having a physical job probably compromises your recovery. Chances are, the physical challenges of the job are fairly far removed from the physical challenges of a race.
I have a very physical job and when I have slow periods of work I always have so much more energy for quality workouts and good recovery gets to happen. There’s nothing worse than starting a workout feeling fatigued from having worked hard all day. If I try to do good workouts in the am before a hard day’s work I just end up hurting all day. I think there’s a reason there aren’t many blue collar worker in endurance type sports.
Depends on the training schedule / plan. Your work, social life, family, etc. are all factors that should be worked into your training and as one variable changes, it will have repercussions on your training.
As a life long heavy construction carpenter, as physical as a job can be, I could never train like the people I raced against. I can’t tell you how many times I got to the pool after work and just couldn’t do it. I always felt that even though I did only 50 to 70% of the training that they did, the physicality of the job made up for it. And I raced to pretty good results. I loved driving into NYC in the early morning to run the dark, empty streets, then stripping down on the sidewalk and putting on my overalls to go to work. I always raced better in the winter because the work day was shorter. In summer, hours would go up to 6 x 10 hours, sometimes 12 hours and training would back off.
Now I’m retired and now that I’m not I realize how exhausted I used to be all the time. This is great! Train, rest, race. This is really great!
Physical has always worked better for me. My last job where I sat 5+ hours a day seemed to always leave me feeling bleh, and I developed all sorts of niggling lower/upper back issues due to computer strain.
I have just recently switched from a physically demanding job in which I was on my feet a majority of the day to a new position that is far less demanding physically and requires me to be sedentary for the most part.
I always felt (and hoped) the physical aspect of my old job aided me in training because the cumulative and moderate activity made me more fit. However, since the switch my training sessions have been amazing in that I feel much better physically and mentally during and after the workouts.
I’m thinking the new sedentary aspect of my life is giving me more recovery and is going to make me a better triathlete?
What is your own experience as it relates to your job/training?
As long as your job doesn’t involve too much sitting, you should be OK according to this:
I’m a carpenter. Also the only trades person I know in triathlon. That right there should tell you something!!
I often wonder about this myself. There is nothing like working hard, in the sun, all day long, then going home and running 25k, or riding hill intervals until dark, or showing up at masters swimming where all your swim friends are just ‘coming to life’ after their boring day at the office. I think it builds a certain mental toughness, but I don’t think it can be counted as training. If anything, rest and injury management become much more crucial. You can’t kill yourself in your morning workout, sit at your desk all day, then kill yourself in your evening workout. Lunch time workouts don’t exist.
I just can’t do IM training. I did one, and it was pretty rough. I lost a large amount of weight (I was pretty lean to begin with), despite eating everything I could get my hands on. I was exhausted all the time. A deep, lingering exhaustion that remained well after the IM was complete. I think I only maxed out my training hours at 14-16/week, with the majority of my training being around 10/week. That’s not many compared to what a lot of people do, but it was really all I could manage before it started effecting my ability to work well.
I suspect the optimal job would be one where you were up and about and active without too much sitting or driving on the one hand and too much bust ass work like hanging off a garbage truck in the middle of winter. The sitting doesn’t seem to do us any favors over time, but neither does mining asbestos
Physical has always worked better for me. My last job where I sat 5+ hours a day seemed to always leave me feeling bleh, and I developed all sorts of niggling lower/upper back issues due to computer strain.
same here. I dropped by 70k year software dev job and took up 9/hr bike messenger job. I probably love more so the mental relief
I’m also a blue-collared worker. Albeit fairly young and no family yet. Work consists of being on my feet, heaving stuff everyday for 8-10 hours. Schedule changes every week, from working AM, mid, PM even graveyard. I don’t have the normal weekends. Sometimes, the long 10-11-day work week in inevitable when I need the weekend off to do a race. While I’m generally physically active, it wasn’t until I got into triathlons that I started paying attention to rest & recovery. I’m nowhere fast, just decent to be upper midpack. This very laborious job coupled w/ a very irregular schedule certainly does take a toll especially when I’m training. It doesn’t help me much that most races are in the summer when we’re also at the busiest time of the year at work and my training also ramps up.
I would like to believe that I can be better at racing when life has a certain level of predictability in when it comes to work sched. Not want a completely sedentary job. Something enough that can make you move around yet also spend some time not taxing the body too much on top of training.
I would say that having a sedentary job is the best thing for any athlete who wants to perform at a high level, because then you can focus ALL of your physical activity toward your sport.
Yes. I’ve done both and the desk job is much better if you want to do serious training.
I would say that having a sedentary job is the best thing for any athlete who wants to perform at a high level, because then you can focus ALL of your physical activity toward your sport.
Yes. I’ve done both and the desk job is much better if you want to do serious training.
As a professor I’m on my feet A LOT. When the semester started I really didn’t want to get on the treadmill cause me feet hurt. It’s worse if I have to teach and then go off to consult with businesses (which is I spend most of my time doing). Then on my feet all freaking day. If I wasn’t so vain I’d get those shoes nurses wear. But I’m always in my Chucks, which are very very comfy.
When I was in corporate banking I was at a desk. After a day of sitting on my ass or playing golf, I couldn’t wait to run or ride.
