11 Work-Life Balance Tips for Busy Athletes

Striking a balance between work, life, and athletic goals is one of the biggest challenges you will face as a working athlete. It can seem impossible to dedicate enough time to succeed at each aspect of your life and leave you feeling overwhelmed. While it is certainly not easy and will take a little sacrifice in some areas of your life, with proper prioritization, planning, and communication, it is possible to find stability and victory, as countless CTS Athletes have shown over the years. We reached out to some of our busiest athletes and asked them to share how they can achieve their athletic goals without neglecting their work and family life.

1. Jack H.

non-resident artist and stay-at-home dad raising two kids in NYC with my advocate wife.

"The most significant thing I do to equilibrium labor life, and teaching is laying all I plan with my bus on the calendar I share with my wife and household. I go through the effort to schedule and make calls with my coach, work out when I am expected to, and pay for the CTS service, so why wouldn't I give doing the exercise the same weight and consequence I do everything else?

If there is a ballet recital, it is on the calendar. If I am doing an hour and a half on the trainer, it is on the calendar and whatever lands there, and I expect to attend to and accomplish. Placing it there gives it the same weight and importance as the kid's activities and my wife's appointments. That sometimes means I have to get up at 5 am to get it in early, but that is the number two thing I do; make it a priority not to miss a workout. Being household to my training, myself, my coach, and warm-up out make it easier to get up early and sacrifice to do the work."

2. Adam C.

national Tech Sales Leader with two kids who progress habitually and are training for an Ironman.

"A help system, coach, open 

transmission, and focus on the now.

The strong support structure at home – the whole family is sympathetic. For instance, my wife helps by taking the kids to school in the morning, allowing me to train before work. On the weekends, the kid's bike when I run is a good way to get some pacing in with family time. Their encouragement and involvement are my fuel. Ironman weekend has become a family celebration; we all look forward to it.

CTS coach – with my schedule and frequent travel, we can balance and plan the schedule to maximize the quality of training while I am on the road. I will analyze the area and hotel, and use Strava and LaFitness to recognize my options. Last year I swam on the road in Massachusetts, California, and Sweden! I have discovered fun trails that add a nice spice to my training. Kevin, my coach, has become skilled at timing my blocks with rest weeks coinciding with family evacuation or longer professional trips. Knowing my schedule will be adjusted to ensure a solid workout gives me peace of mind and reassurance that I am on target with my training goals.

Communication – with my coach, family, and colleagues. I am open about my teaching with my workmate, and they are protective when I need to turn in early or rise early to train before meetings. My 

supervisor is a runner, which is a 

vast plus. He gives great tips on areas to run when I am  touring

As a family, we plan the week together Sunday evenings and 

renovate a chalkboard in the kitchen. We align schedules to ensure the kids are covered and that I am doing my share, taking the kids to the activities in the evening since I am training in the morning and warrant my wife has time for her fitness tracking. My wife and I both tour with work and keeping the program helps us keep our upcoming training on track and allow us to regulate properly.

Focus on the now – I focus on the workout when I am training. I focus on my work at work, and I am in the moment with the family. Please take dominance of your time with each to give it full observation and focus. additionally, be sure to grasp time for yourself (aka rest). I try to compress in a 25-minute nap whenever I can. Enjoy the occurrence, and love what you do. This is a choice. We GET to do this. We are fortunate."

3. Allyson D.

Senior Media Marketing administrative with two kids, a husband, and 

schooling two racing dogs. 

"Prioritizing is essential. The kids always come first. I get my training done untimely in the morning so that nothing can deflect it after the day. It has been harder now as I have a new job, so I am working with my CTS coach to ensure my training time is maximized. Sometimes goals have to be slightly flexible –  sometimes, I have to remind myself that I am not being paid to ride my bike, so it should be fun. Helps me keep it in check."

4. Lana B.

liberated Business specialist, married with two cats, always comes forward and coaching; now training for my first Ironman.

"I utilize multiple Google calendars to congregate professional, personal, participant, training, and running 

loyalty. I always copy workouts from my coach into Google and schedule a time for each, dedicating a focus to it and everything else. I also can view my husband's calendar. With one sight against my laptop or smartphone, I can 

arrange mentally and get arranged to complete each training period."

5. Steve R.

"I keep a

the harsh act of nightly getting to bed by 10 pm. This allows me to get up early, before work, and everyone is up on the weekends, so my workouts are typically done, and I am home before anyone is up."

6. Bill C.

Four-year age group CTS athlete (age 66) doing 10+ time trials per year, balancing work (bank executive), volunteer work, and family obligations.

"For me, the key element is my schedule. If I do not schedule it on my calendar, it does not happen. I set aside the period of 3 pm to 6 pm every day to work out. To make this work, I have terrific support from my boss and co-workers and my wife at home. At the office, this "obturate" time is appreciated and only intruded upon periodically for "really important" meetings. Also, I have gotten into keeping a bike and bike stuff in my car. So all I need to do to ride is change clothes and fill up a water bottle. I generally will take my bike kit to the office and exchange it there. This eliminates the hurdle of loading stuff into the car before heading out. Early on, this impeded getting the workout done."

7. Henry J.

CPA and firm landlord with son in college, daughter in high school, and coaching for endurance cycling.

"My CTS coach Noah Collins produce a time-constraint cycling training idea, allowing me to see 

organized workouts on my TrainingPeaks calendar. This permits me to make my workouts a dominant precedence when planning my week. Weekly programming is the best fit for me for equity work, life, and teaching. I receive more work done in a few times when I make time for myself, like training, and preeminence. Steadying in shape gives me more time to accomplish other chores, not less.

One of the clues to work/life/training balance is to 

recognize that you are not your career. For many, their identity is wrapped up in how they earn money. the entity is about so much more than our occupation. I took a time supervision

trajectory in my early twenties. The first exertion in the course was to grade the top three areas of 

curiosity for each of us. There were eight different topics. My 

crest three were family, health, and career in that system I've never forgotten my priorities. Knowing them keeps me focused on what matters most to me." 

8. Rene van H.

47-year-old universal Manager for IBM Panama, married with three kids, ten-time Ironman finisher, and Boston Marathon accessory.

"The Secret: Learn to say NO to things that do not align with your priorities. What I style: The ability to say No! What is my antecedence in Family, Health, and Work? Those three things are interconnected and count on each other. My agenda should always show a good balance of the three areas, and anything that does not add value to either should be out of my agenda."

9. Michael H.

A veterinarian who works 6 days a week and emergencies 24/7, with two kids, and trains for multiple endurance events yearly.

"I am an expert at working on schedules, so I incorporate my teaching in scheduled time hunk as I would my appointments. periodically, 

exigency work interrupts the

plan, but usually, I can work around those. Life with the family takes priority. Nothing gets in the way of that. If a want is, the training gets done untimely morning, in the dark, or later in the evening, in the dark. If all else fails, that training session is canceled, and I move on to the next workout. Missing a training session can be rescheduled.

exceptional family values cannot and should not be strayed

10. Kevin D.

Art administrator/Marketing Manager, husband, father of three, and trying to be an elite sportsman.

"There are days albeit I am up at 5 am to obtain in the warm-up, anytime when it is an extended afternoon

trip and others in the duskiness. There needs to be more consistency regarding available time, but we will make it work. You have to have clear 

impartiality every day or week. Know what you demand to get done in the office, around the house, or on the bike, and make it cause. When you have the concern, you need to push yourself out of the house before you find something credit

sticking for."

11. Joseph P.

Senior Executive at Fortune 500 company.

"I do not. Cycling comes first. Moreover, meeting my cycling goals makes me better in all other aspects of my life. I draw a hard line around my training time and do not break it except in an emergency. Balance is about ensuring I take care of my physical self to perform at the top of my game at work and home. The positive knock-on impact in my life –always putting training first — is enormous. Taking care of your materialistic needs is the 

substructure of your life. Think about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. It is not about balance. It is about necessary layers to realize your full potential as a person, not just an athlete."

Athlete responses were edited for brevity and clarity.