Training & Nutrition - Juggling different sports - no time for gym!

I haven't been able to make it to the gym very often lately, and I'm wondering what I can do about it.

The main problem is that I do plenty of cardio in sport outside the gym - lots of cycling, running and tip rugby, and some climbing and most recently sailing. I get no time to get to the gym and do a serious resistance sessions. I've noticed loss of bulk (going catabolic?), which doesn't bode well for the (rugby) front row come next September (season starts).

One of the reasons I find it hard to get time is that I know a proper session will knock me out of using that body area for the next 3 days, so on the rare occasions that I do have the opportunity I pass it up knowing that e.g. a good back & shoulders workout will completely take out my ability to go cycling/climbing/sailing over the next few days, and will hinder everything else. I don't even bother with leg workouts at the moment, sprints & hill climbs provide quite a good workout. Arms, back and upper body are suffering a little bit. I'm still keeping in touch by doing the occasional (monthly) heavy session in the weights room.

My current thoughts are that I just need to prioritise, and resistance work just isn't up there at the top of the list for me at the moment. This isn't so much of a question, more a frustrated comment.

I would appreciate any of your comments or suggestions. Anyone in the same boat?

Whatever feels right to you. Although, I lift heavy, and a session has never knocked me out for 3 days. I am a multi-sport athlete, and feel the frustration of fitting in training time, myself.

If you're getting completely knocked by your resistance training then it sounds as if you may be working with too much weight. What sort of reps are you doing? I haven't done a huge amount of weight training, but when I do I work on 3 sets of 15 reps.

The other thing I find myself wondering is where your priorities really lie. Rugby doens't sound like a sport that combines terribly well with cycling! Every article I've read about weight training in combination with cycling says that having large muscle bulk is detrimental on the bike as it negatively affects oxygen take-up in the muscle fibres. Of course if all the sports on your list are there for your own personal satisfaction and fun, then you should be able to find a way to combine them all satisfactorily. But if your ambition is to be especially competitive in any of them, you may want to look at whether the other sports complement or hinder your chosen sport.

Perhaps you could considering changing position on the rugby field to something which goes better with your other forms of training?