Seasonal Training

 There are exercisers who train completely indoors, usually at some gym where equipment and facilities are available for total training. For these people, consistency of training is more important than the diversity of training and they prefer a rigid program. 

I prefer seasonal training for reasons other than just diversity. When you train seasonally, it makes you more aware of the seasons – the same way you are aware of the seasons as a child. With each season, there are new opportunities, new challenges. So fitness training can satisfy your inner child.

There are also physiological and psychological advantages of seasonal training. Whether your training at sixteen or sixty, every training program experiences performance plateaus and at some point, an ultimate plateau. There is a point where improvement becomes virtually impossible. This may take months or even years, but it is inevitable. When we encounter these plateaus or impasses, it can evoke a negative psychological response. One of the most positive reinforcements for training is the pleasure of improvement, and when improvement disappears, so can much of the pleasure. When we develop seasonal training programs, every season we set up new training goals. For instance, my spring cycling goal is to reach four hours by the end of the season. My first ride is usually about an hour with every subsequent ride a bit longer. My game is to see long far I can reach before the end of the season. I don't always surpass the previous season's performance, but I never encounter training plateaus. 

I approach each season with a real sense of enthusiasm. If I faced the same workout training program month after month, I'm not certain I could retain the discipline to continue training.The best training program is one that produces results and one that the exerciser can maintain for the long term. There are some people who have the will power to exercise regularly even when each workout is a result of will power and not joy. Most of us our not endowed with such will power so the choice is not to exercise at all or to create a training program that is actually enjoyed.  For those who value their health and vigor, the choice is clear.