At the end of March last year, I found myself back at home for the National Lockdown.
My name is Lucy Grant and I am a track sprint cyclist, normally based in Manchester, where I am training as a full-time athlete at the National Cycling Centre.
However, like everywhere else, our facilities had to close, so I had to really rethink how I was going to do my training. I was just starting a strength block which involves a lot of gym sessions, so building up a ‘home gym’ became my priority. Initially I got some equipment from a local gym in Peebles and then, after a lot of searching online, I was able to source a lifting bar and all the weights that I needed.
With the expert help of my Dad, we managed to cobble together a temporary gym, where I was able to do my training.
While I was waiting for some of the weight plates to arrive, we had to improvise and made some wooden weights for some technique work.
Alongside this, my track sessions were replaced with road, turbo and rollers sessions.
I also used an industrial estate near me, once a week, to practise my standing starts on my track bike. This was actually really good fun. Normally, I train indoors, so it was great to incorporate some outdoor sessions as well.
I was very fortunate that I was able to continue with my training throughout this time.
I did find it challenging at points, in particular, training on my own, but this was made better by the feedback I was still able to get from my coaches.
All the sessions I did I was videoing and sending to my coaches. They were watching them back and would send videos with voiceovers pointing out things I could improve on. This made training so much better and I was still able to make improvements.
One of the bonuses of being at home was that when the trails were open again, I was able to do all my recovery rides on my mountain bike which was great fun!
Like everyone, I was unsure how I would manage my training during lockdown but with some imagination, it was possible to create a really good substitute to my normal training facilities.
Lucy - Cycle Law Scotland - We cycle too