Hi,
Most of you aren't pro athletes with a team paying your bills. You're working full-time jobs while trying to train and stay healthy.
That's the reality for most of the athletes I talk to.
Which is why I wanted to share what I learned from pro cyclist and full-time jobholder Hannah Shell.
Hannah races gravel at the highest level—competing against Olympic medalists and ex-WorldTour pros in the Lifetime Grand Prix series. But here's the thing: she's also working a full-time job as a project manager while doing it.
Not just casually training. We're talking structured workouts, 3-hour rides in the middle of the workday, training camps, the whole deal.
When I heard how she actually pulls this off, I had to dig deeper. Because if Hannah can balance serious racing with a demanding career, there are lessons here for all of us.
The Schedule That Actually Works
Hannah's up at 8 am and scheduled solid until 9 pm. Her work is on Central Time, she's riding Mountain Time.
Here's what makes it sustainable: everything is pre-planned.
She knows exactly what she's eating when she gets home. Recovery shake ready to go. Lunch prepped. Right back to work.
No decision fatigue. No scrambling. The logistics are dialed so tight that a 3-hour training block doesn't derail her entire workday.
The Products That Keep Her Functioning
When you're maxed out like this, you can't afford gaps. Hannah's really specific about what she keeps on hand:
Kyoku Shake "In case I need a quick filler until I can get a proper meal. Not a meal replacement, but a bridge when timing gets tight." It's plant-based and easy on the stomach between meetings.
Momentous Collagen Latte Every morning."This starts my day off really well." She's also dealing with hip issues from sitting at work all day, and the collagen helps.
Dream Shot "When I've had a really intense day, and I can feel my nervous system is not winding down." She uses it as a fail-safe when she knows recovery is critical. One bad night's sleep throws off the entire next day when you're operating at this level.
Momentous Sleep Pack On the nights she's not taking Dream Shot. "My sleep has been so much better since I've been taking these."
Styrkr Bars and Ascent Whey Protein Quick-grab nutrition she can access between meetings."Today I had a headwind coming home and a meeting starting in 1 minute, then the meeting itself is 60 minutes. If I didn't have that resource, I wouldn't be getting the nutrition my body needs."
That last one hit me. How many times have you skipped recovery nutrition because you had to jump on a call?
The Metric That Matters Most
Hannah wears her Garmin Forerunner 24/7. Not optional.
But she's not obsessing over training load. She's watching her stress metrics.
"If you're constantly under stress, you're never recovering. Even on a recovery day, if I'm working, I try to manage stress throughout the day to make sure I'm actually recovering."
This is huge. Most people track their training stress but ignore their work stress. Your body doesn't know the difference. Cortisol from a brutal meeting affects recovery the same way a hard interval session does.
She also watches:
Sleep metrics (RHR, sleep score, deep sleep phases)
Resting heart rate trends
Stress load outside of training
"If you're not tracking your sleep, you don't really know how well you're actually sleeping and recovering."
What You Can Learn From This
Hannah's approach isn't about having superhuman discipline. It's about systems.
She pre-planned everything so logistics don't become obstacles. She keeps the right products on hand so nutrition gaps don't wreck her recovery. And she tracks the metrics that actually matter when you're running on a tight margin.
You don't need to be racing gravel at the pro level to use this approach. You just need to stop trying to wing it.
The athletes who succeed at this aren't tougher than you. They're just more systematic.
Give it a shot and let us know how it works.
- The Feed.
P.S. If you want to try Hannah's exact setup, here's what she's using daily:
Kyoku Superfood Shake
Momentous Collagen
Dream Shot
Momentous Sleep Pack
Styrkr Bars
Ascent Whey Protein
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