What to Do When You Miss a Workout
Picture this: You’re following your training plan. Everything’s going well—and then life happens.
Maybe you got sick, had a family emergency, or just needed a mental health day. The truth is: missing a workout is normal. What matters most is how you respond.
Step 1: Don’t Panic (or Feel Guilty)
Missing one workout won’t ruin your fitness. Progress comes from weeks and months of consistency, not from one perfect day.
I like to tell people to picture your progress as a forest and each workout is planting a tree. One or two trees doesn’t build a forest, but over time as you keep planting trees (completing workouts) your forest develops. Now once that forest is established, and during the progress of, you won’t miss one or two tree plantings here and there - it will still look like a forest over time.
Step 2: Decide How to Adjust
Ask yourself:
- Was it a key session (like a long ride or hard interval)?
- Was it an easier day (like core, recovery, or short aerobic work)?
If it was a key session, you might reschedule or lightly adjust. But only if you can do this if it does not impact your other workouts! If you have a coach - talk to them about rearranging your week or replacing a different session with the missed one. See steps 3 & 4.
If it was a lighter or non-key session, you can often just move on without making it up.
Then refer back to step 1 about not feeling guilty for shifting things around. You can refer to step 1 as many times as you need. I know exactly what the pressure of feeling guilty from missed training sessions feels like.
Step 3: Avoid the “Make Up” Trap
Stacking multiple missed sessions onto future days can backfire and lead to fatigue or injury. Instead, stay on schedule as best you can and focus on upcoming quality sessions.
No matter how fit and strong you are - you can’t cram all your sessions into the weekend.
Step 4: Talk to Your Coach (If You Have One)
If you’re training with a coach (or considering it), communication is key. Let your coach know when life interrupts your training so they can help you adjust without derailing your progress.
Final Thoughts
Training isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being consistent, adaptable, and resilient.
One missed day doesn’t define your season. How you bounce back does.
As an athlete myself, I have been in your shoes. Life happens. Missed sessions occur. It is not the end of your training progress. This is also why I advise athletes training for long endurance events to start early to allow for these things to happen. As a coach I know that the training plan I write (or TriDot does) won’t be 100% applied. We do what we can, when we can.
Need Help Building a Flexible Plan?
🎯 Start a free TriDot trial or 💬 Book a free coaching call or email Coach Bec at info@bethefear.com.au
I’ll help you build a plan that works around real life.
You’re doing better than you think. Keep going.
— Coach Bec
Be The Fear - Personalised Endurance Training