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I was talking to Prof Stephen Seiler a while back and something he said has been stuck in my head ever since.

When you zoom out and look at the macro picture of someone's training, over months and years, the best weeks aren't what predicts outcomes.

The worst weeks are.

The floor matters more than the ceiling.

That hit me hard.

Because most of us obsess over the perfect week. The 14-hour build week. The one where everything clicked and the numbers were silly.

We measure ourselves by those weeks.

We try to manufacture more of them.

But the riders who get fitter year on year aren't the ones with higher peaks. They're the ones whose worst weeks are still… something.

Not perfect. Just not zero.

This is where I love what James Clear talks about in Atomic Habits. The idea of "all or something" instead of "all or nothing."

The full session is gone. Life got in the way. The kids are sick. Work blew up. The plan said three hours and you've got thirty minutes.

Most people skip it.

Tell themselves they'll start fresh on Monday.

That's the all-or-nothing trap, and it's the single biggest reason people stall.

"All or something" says do the 30 minutes. Do 15. Do a 10-minute spin and a stretch. Do whatever you can actually do today, on this version of this week, with the life you actually have.

Because here's what we're really chasing.

Not the perfect week.

The perfect repeatable week.

The one you can run back next week even if it's raining, even if you slept badly, even if your boss is being a clown.

The one where your floor stays high.

That's where adaptation lives. That's where year-on-year improvement comes from. Not from the heroic week you talk about for months. From the quietly consistent floor under everything else.

So this week, if the plan blows up, and it will eventually, resist the urge to write it off.

Do the something.

Protect the floor.

That's the work.

Anthony

Ps. Racing the Tour of Ireland (“The Ras”) last week reminded me of the best part about cycling. Being around like-minded people, telling stories, and covering miles. With that in mind I’m so excited to announce our Roadman Girona Training Camp. Spots are limited so get signed up asap. I can’t wait to welcome you to Girona (road & gravel camp this October) https://roadmancycling.com/training-camps

pps. There’s a short ad below. I found it very useful, having it helps to keep this newsletter free of charge

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