Athletes' Juggle Can Be A Struggle

IN PART TWO OF HER INVESTIGATION INTO WORK/TRAINING BALANCE, ANNA BONIFACE REPORTS ON RESULTS FROM HER ONLINE ATHLETES SURVEY

- Anna Boniface

ARE ATHLETES who hold down a full-time job more stressed? Do they get less sleep and how are their social lives affected? Would they give up their careers to become full time athletes if given the opportunity? These are just some of the things I wanted to address in an online survey I conducted this year. I was interested in how many endurance athletes are in full-time work, like I am, and how much they are able to train.

Responses flooded in and while some findings were predictable, there were a few surprises thrown in as well. Around 65% of the athletes who took part in my survey were in full time work, many with demanding careers such as doctors, physiotherapists, teachers, accountants, researchers and surveyors.

Results showed that the most common mileage was 60-100 miles per week (34% of athletes). I know from personal experience that this mileage is in the life-consuming territory.

It came as no surprise to me that 65% of respondents said they find “time constraints to training volume” the most common barrier to progression. Of the five athletes who were running over 100 miles a week, only one had a full-time job. That speaks volumes.

Many who worked complained of feeling tired all the time. It’s well documented that athletes require eight hours of sleep. In fact, actively increasing sleep has shown to have a positive impact on performance in as little as two weeks (Mak et al, 2011). Of those who reported getting 8-10 hours’ sleep (a grand total of 22 people) 30% were full-time athletes. For the majority (63%), 6-8 hours of sleep had to suffice.

But what other things did the survey throw up?

Your job needn’t limit your progress as an athlete