Training plans
Why use a training plan?
There are so many great reasons to follow and stick to training plans for your physical challenge and especially true for anyone that is taking on a challenge that is new to them or outside of their comfort zone.
They offer variety
Training for an event, especially if it is new to you, can get pretty boring, pretty quickly. When people train on their own without the use of training plans one of the common issues is that they get into a routine of doing the same sort of training over and over again. This approach is not going to physically prepare you for your event in the best possible way, it is also very likely to lead you to becoming bored and disinterested in your training.
Helps avoid overtraining
Training plans are great because they break up the repetitive type of training mentioned above. If you just do the same thing over and over again you put yourself at a much higher risk of injury and missing crucial training before your big event. Training plans mix things up so you work on different muscles groups and at different intensity so you don't put too much pressure on your body. They also factor in rest days to let your body take vital recovery breaks.
Keeps you on track
If you follow a training plan you get the satisfaction of not only seeing physical improvements but also the mental benefits of getting closer and closer to reaching your goal. Who doesn't like ticking another day of training off?!