Life as an elite athlete? Create the optimal conditions, indoors and outdoors

Eat, sleep, train, repeat… that’s the life of an elite athlete in a nutshell. It seems repetitive, although this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case if you have the choice between going indoors or outdoors. Regardless of the weather and without sacrificing comfort. Eating and training can be done under a patio cover. And sun protection and ventilation ensure the right temperatures and healthy indoor air in the house for indoor training and the best possible night’s sleep. Living like a pro? How you live also contributes to this.

EAT

Eating healthily is extremely important to an athlete. But also: taking the time to enjoy it. And where better to have a bite to eat than outside close to nature? You can always enjoy the shelter of a pergola. Even if you want a short coffee stop between training rides, you can always sit outside in comfort, sheltered from the sun, rain and wind. Find out more about how the riders of Soudal Quick-Step take advantage of the versatility of a pergola. 

SLEEP

Experienced trainers and athletes know that rest is at least as important as the training effort. A healthy (night of) rest gives the body time to recover. The ideal preconditions are a dark, quiet bedroom with good ventilation and healthy air, and a room that does not get too hot in the summer. This is enough to provide the required recovery so you can get back to it the next day. Blackout screens, night cooling and ventilation are a blessing for this. Especially if you know that getting enough fresh air at night is crucial for your recuperation capacity. 

TRAIN

Practice makes perfect. And this is definitely true in the world of sports. Repeated and varied training ensures a healthy body and top condition. But sessions don’t have to be boring or done on a mat in a musty gym. Try working on core stability in the open air. This is possible in the healthy open air all year round under a pergola, where you can be sheltered from all weather conditions.  

But you also want optimal conditions for indoor cycling training. And in this case, the last thing you need is for the sun on the window to raise the indoor temperature. This problem can be solved in no time if you lower the screens.

REPEAT

Training stimuli work because the body adapts better to new circumstances. The art is to continuously increase training efforts. So the cycle repeats again: eat, sleep and train. Especially if you want to be the best in the world. For riders, that means: clipping into the pedals, putting the louvered roof into the right position, and moving the screens down so you can do your roller training, but outside this time. Let’s go!