"It’s no secret. Consistency is probably the most important factor when it comes to training, especially for endurance events,” explains Non Stanford, former World Triathlon champion turned coach.
Without it, your body will struggle to go through the continued physiological adaptations it needs to deliver performance gains, and that’s the reality no matter what your training and racing goals are.
The trouble is, that consistency can be hard to achieve and sustain, as can good sleep practices and nutrition. But that’s something that habits might be able to help with.
According to a study in the British Journal of General Practice in 2012, psychologically habits are defined as ‘actions that are triggered automatically in response to contextual cues that have been associated with their performance’.
Each and every one of us has habits, both good and bad, but hijacking them can help propel us to greater levels of performance in life and, more importantly for us, in sport. And the good news is that all it’ll take is small changes to your behaviour.
So below, with the help of pro triathletes and habit experts, we take a look at how to do it...
How long does it take to form a new habit?
Research conducted by health psychology researcher Philippa Lally and published in the European Journal of Social Psychology in 2009 found that it takes between 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit.
However, the average (median) time it took people to form an automatic behaviour was 66 days.
1. Show up
Struggling to even start some sessions in your plan? Create a habit of simply showing up.
In his book The Slight Edge, bestselling author Jeff Olson wrote: “When you talk with people who have achieved extraordinary things and ask them how they accomplished whatever it is they’ve done, it is stunning how often they will tell you some version of this: I just decided to do it.”
For example, rather than trying to run 15km every Sunday as your long run, simplify it. Instead of focusing on completing the training session and hitting certain numbers, create a basic behaviour that’s simply the action of putting on your run kit and stepping outside.
Two-time Paratriathlon world champion Claire Cashmore is on board with the idea. “When I was a swimmer I used to obsess so much more about when I hadn’t hit particular times in training, but I’ve realised that that one bad session doesn’t matter.
"It’s actually the repeat, week on week, that’s going to result in the outcome you’re looking for.”
2. Break down barriers
In 1954 US psychologist Gordon Allport developed a concept called the principle of least effort, which was a nod to the idea that we typically look for a route of minimum effort when attempting to achieve a goal. Sound familiar? Well, the good news is that you can use this concept to your advantage.
When trying to set new habits, make it as easy as possible to follow them by removing any potential barriers or friction.
An example of this is to simply lay out your swim, bike or run kit the night (or morning, if you plan to train after work) before your session.
“I always used to put my stuff out ready so you literally just have to get up and not even think about it,” explains Stanford.
“You just put your clothes on, your bag is ready, you get in the car and go. If you organise the day before, it’s a lot easier.”
Essentially, you just want to make a new habit so easy that you don’t even need motivation to do it.
3. Stack habits together
Each of us already has a range of habits pre-programmed into us. Some are bad, but many are good or neutral, and we can actually use some of these existing habits to build new ones.
This is something that James Clear, author of bestselling book Atomic Habits, refers to as habit stacking. “You probably have very strong habits and connections that you take for granted each day,” he writes. “You can take advantage of these strong connections to build new habits.”
How does it work? Simply identify existing behaviours or habits you have and pick one to be the trigger for a new habit you want to establish.
The habit you’re stacking on top of needs to happen as regularly as the new habit you want to form, and the key is to be incredibly specific about the trigger.
For example, if you want to build a habit of doing a yoga or stretching session once a week, you could stipulate that every time you sit down to start watching your favourite TV programme, you’ll
also begin your routine.
4. Use positive reinforcement
Our brains are wired in such a way that we typically value instant gratification more than we do delayed gratification.
That means we look for quick rewards rather than those that will come further down the line as a result of a behaviour we take now.
In an age-group triathlete’s scenario, this could be a case of missing a key session because we want to watch another episode of Peaky Blinders or go for a beer.
However, alongside the other tricks mentioned here, we can also use our lust for instant gratification to help us establish habits. To do so, we must find some form of ‘reward’ to reinforce a habit after we’ve practised it.
For example, Stanford says: “It’s okay to sometimes say ‘if I do this session, I can treat myself to some cake or a beer’.
"That’s sometimes okay if that’s what you need to get you out the door. It shouldn’t be your ultimate motivation, but I definitely used to do that sometimes if I was just really struggling to get my trainers on.”
5. Track your habits
This next tip follows on nicely from the last one: James Clear recommends keeping an eye on your habits with a tracker because it can offer both satisfaction and reward.
Doing something as simple as marking off a day in the calendar is not only a good visual representation of your progress, but it helps you feel good about how you’re doing.
Plus, it means if you do miss a day, you can hold yourself to account and get your habit streak back on track.
6. Normalise high performance
Rest assured that when we say ‘high performance’ we don’t mean the sporting kind, but rather the process kind.
When we surround ourselves with high-achieving people with similar goals and behaviour ambitions to us, it helps hold us up to a higher standard and keeps us accountable.
This is something that Cashmore often tries to do in training. “I think sometimes if you know you’re really going to struggle with a particular session, organise to do it with someone else and then you’ve got to go because you know that person will be waiting for you. You’re almost holding yourself accountable.”
Olympic gold medallist Jess Learmonth aligns with this idea, too: “When I was first [starting out as] an athlete, I used to train but then I’d also see my friends, go out and do all sorts of things.”
As a pro, it’s something she had to work on, and while it’s not so serious for age-groupers, Learmonth thinks there’s much to gain from being with fellow triathletes. “Being in training clubs helps motivation and you then socialise at the same time. They’re in the same mindset, as well.”
7. Don't miss twice
Creating a habit is no quick task and it takes discipline and commitment to see it through to the point that it actually sticks.
If, however, you have a wobble and fall off that metaphorical horse, make sure you jump straight back on.
“Research has shown that missing your habit once, no matter when it occurs, has no measurable impact on long-term progress,” writes Clear. “You just need to be consistent, not perfect. Focus on building the identity of someone who never misses a habit twice.”
Given how important consistency is for physical adaptations for triathlon, treat this as a golden rule and you should still be able to build up the accumulative effect of your training.
Stanford agrees: “We all slip up from time to time, but try not to think, ‘Well I’ve not done it this time, so may as well not bother’. You just need get back on, carry on the next day and it’ll be absolutely fine. Nothing will be affected in the long run.”
8. Make bad habits harder
What habits are stopping you from achieving your training goals? Are you hitting snooze too often? Or are you picking up your phone and scrolling through social media instead of getting up and getting to it?
Adding friction will help you break these bad habits, so assess your environment and see what you can do.
For example, if you’re using your phone as an alarm, put it on the other side of the room under your kit so you have to get up and grab your kit to turn it off. Better yet, leave it outside the room and use an actual alarm clock to wake up.
Try to remove other distractions that could get in the way of sessions, too, such as chores that should
have been done the night before.
And if you struggle with your daily nutrition, try to remove unhealthy options from sight, but make better foods easily available.
9. Habituate your sleep
Professor of neuroscience Matthew Walker is widely considered one of the world’s experts on sleep. He’s worked with many elite athletes and has described sleep as perhaps “the greatest legal performance-enhancing drug that too few athletes are abusing enough in this modern day and age”.
That’s because studies have shown that it’s not only vital for recovery, but it can also have an impact on performance.
Introducing good habits around sleep allows you to maximise its impact. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day is a proven way to help, as is staying off blue-light-emitting screens just before bed.
Stanford has this advice: “Set your alarm for the time that you have to get up. If you set your alarm 10mins before you actually have to get up, it’s really tempting to hit snooze. But if you know you’ve got to get up at that time, you just up and go.”
10. Failproof your fuelling
Fuelling is a discipline that even the most experienced triathletes can get wrong, whether it’s in training, pre-race and during a race. But habits, in addition to things like alerts on your bike computer, can help you get it right.
Learmonth offers up one good example of how: “Whether it’s a Tuesday or a Saturday when we do our run sessions, we’ve always got shakes ready for the drive home.” It sounds simple, but that can quickly become a habit, ensuring you get the fuel you need post-session.
Race-day is another example when you can habituate your fuelling. “All elements of pre-race become habitual within elite athletes and this can definitely transfer into age-group triathlon as well,” explains Stanford.
“Because we were racing all over the world, we’d try and have a meal that you could get anywhere in the world. So pre-race the night before was often pizza. And then the morning of the race was either bread with jam or later in my career I started having rice for breakfast.”
Essentially, building good pre-race habits like this limits surprises and means there’s one less thing to stress about.
11. Use habits for race day
Heading to races is a nerve-tingling affair that’s laced with jeopardy thanks to the potential to forget key items, mess up your nutrition or fail to visit the Portaloo an adequate number of times before zipping up your wetsuit.
However, a bulletproof routine with practised behaviours can relieve some of the stress. It’s something that’s very important to Cashmore. “I like clarity and I like to know exactly what I’m doing and when I’m doing it,” she says.
“I’ll always have a timeline and I’ll put it up a few days before the race. It’ll have what time I’m eating, what time I’m leaving, what time I’m warming up… It’s always pretty much the same, so I know I always eat three hours before the race, for example.”
Do the same, automate it as much as possible and reap the rewards of less stress.