Maybe Lynyrd Skynyrd is right, be a “Simple Man.“ As I have grown older and hopefully wiser, I have grown simpler with my thoughts on training. I used to be WOWed by various sites and exercises thinking I should include this and that in my training. Now, I have learned to sift through the sea of bull that floats around. If a company or person is promoting that they know the secret and their trai
Well, I agree with you about avoiding the BS.. but.. I don’t think that “staying in the box” is the answer. I think you have to look outside the box and innovate if you want to get ahead of the competition. This is especially true for us non-genetic-freaks out here. If I do the same thing as everyone else, I don’t have the genetics for that to be good enough to get me anywhere. If I want to get somewhere I have to do something that the rest of the pack isn’t doing.
Just my opinion, but, I want to reiterate that I fully agree that there is a lot of BS out there that is just a waste of time / money.
I dont think you need to do something different to get ahead of the competition. I think it is how you do the stuff that makes you better or not. That is why Shaver gives his sprint program out to coaches. He knows it is not what he does but how he does it. All of the little things he does differently than others is what gets them ahead. Also, having been coaching the sport for only five years I can tell you from what I have seen, the athletes that get better are the ones that are passionate about what they are doing and actually enjoy what they are doing. I think so many people look at what they are doing physically when a lot of improvement can be gained by looking at the psychological side of it. If you keep the athletes excited about what is going on and they look forward to coming they will improve.
Well, I agree with you about avoiding the BS.. but.. I don’t think that “staying in the box” is the answer. I think you have to look outside the box and innovate if you want to get ahead of the competition. This is especially true for us non-genetic-freaks out here. If I do the same thing as everyone else, I don’t have the genetics for that to be good enough to get me anywhere. If I want to get somewhere I have to do something that the rest of the pack isn’t doing.
Just my opinion, but, I want to reiterate that I fully agree that there is a lot of BS out there that is just a waste of time / money.
Training changes the expressed genetics one has and this goes hand in hand with what is typically called adaptations.
Well, I agree with you about avoiding the BS.. but.. I don’t think that “staying in the box” is the answer. I think you have to look outside the box and innovate if you want to get ahead of the competition. This is especially true for us non-genetic-freaks out here. If I do the same thing as everyone else, I don’t have the genetics for that to be good enough to get me anywhere. If I want to get somewhere I have to do something that the rest of the pack isn’t doing.
Just my opinion, but, I want to reiterate that I fully agree that there is a lot of BS out there that is just a waste of time / money.
Training changes the expressed genetics one has and this goes hand in hand with what is typically called adaptations.
Yepp, but our “window of opportunity” for this to happen is very limited. We don’t have the luxury of centuries to adapt. So what we have to start out with has a lot to do with where we end up, which is pretty obvious. This is why we have to go “outside the box” to somehow accelerate this process.
I think it is how you do the stuff that makes you better or not. That is why Shaver gives his sprint program out to coaches. He knows it is not what he does but how he does it. All of the little things he does differently than others is what gets them ahead. Also, having been coaching the sport for only five years I can tell you from what I have seen, the athletes that get better are the ones that are passionate about what they are doing and actually enjoy what they are doing. I think so many people look at what they are doing physically when a lot of improvement can be gained by looking at the psychological side of it. If you keep the athletes excited about what is going on and they look forward to coming they will improve.
Amazing points. I sometimes give out programs to people with minimal personal instruction (other event groups). When I get around to watching a session I’m usually like ‘what the heck is going on!‘. Paper workouts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on to a lot of people/athletes due to the usual large degree of misinterpretation that occurs.
Psychology is key too. Turn off the internet, find a training buddy, and work your butt off and you will out perform the majority of CNS pampering internet geniuses out there.
Well, I agree with you about avoiding the BS.. but.. I don’t think that “staying in the box” is the answer. I think you have to look outside the box and innovate if you want to get ahead of the competition. This is especially true for us non-genetic-freaks out here. If I do the same thing as everyone else, I don’t have the genetics for that to be good enough to get me anywhere. If I want to get somewhere I have to do something that the rest of the pack isn’t doing.
Just my opinion, but, I want to reiterate that I fully agree that there is a lot of BS out there that is just a waste of time / money.
Training changes the expressed genetics one has and this goes hand in hand with what is typically called adaptations.
Yepp, but our “window of opportunity” for this to happen is very limited. We don’t have the luxury of centuries to adapt. So what we have to start out with has a lot to do with where we end up, which is pretty obvious. This is why we have to go “outside the box” to somehow accelerate this process.
Actually, its an ongoing process throughout our life and is the result of the cumulative effects of every thing we have done prior.
Nice points tkaberna. Your experience has served you well. Belief does go a long way in how effective training is. I spoke with Tom Tellez at a clinic a few months ago, and he was sold on solid principles being the key. Solid principles being physics, physiology, biomechanics, etc. I really liked that about him, and he just kept it simple and straight to the point.
Individualization and the qualities each athlete has to bring is a biggie on how to do things in training. I have found that solid principles tied in with resourcefulness is a good approach. Coaching truly is a skill and an art. And being an athlete is also an art and skill (at least it was and still is for me).
Amazing points. I sometimes give out programs to people with minimal personal instruction (other event groups). When I get around to watching a session I’m usually like ‘what the heck is going on!‘. Paper workouts aren’t worth the paper they’re written on to a lot of people/athletes due to the usual large degree of misinterpretation that occurs.
I get this all the time early on in the year with lots of newbies. Sometimes I wish I could just give a week long instruction course on how to read and interpret workouts.
I know, I know.
In Eugene I had a guy approach me who wanted to know everything I know in 90 seconds, oops that was AgentW
The rub comes when someone asks for help then slams the supplier because the answers seem too simple, dont use jargon or employ a catchy renaming of existing dogma, etc…
My experience is that people who “dont get it” are doomed to continue not getting it. An innate inability to be introspective is a huge disadvantage in life let alone coaching.
Its in part at least, why I believe I have a cryptic/cynical response style.(insert your denials here ______) I am a big fan of the “Give a man a fish…, but teach a man to fish…“ theory and at times will try and insert something that makes the receiver go to Google. Like the use of the word “seminal”...
As far as gurus and their websites I tell them that information should be free and continue to decline to be involved in a for-profit operation. Of course if Mike is working on Ava’s college fund that would be different.
It is exactly discussions like this that attracted me to this site in the first place and partially due to what I had read that I modified what I have done in the past. As I am still very much in the learning process as far as coaching I have always viewed it as a positive in removing what I have tried but does not work and trying something else or, more frequently adjusting the time frame of certain training aspects from year to year. And, not surprisingly, as years have passed the modifications from the previous year have become fewer and fewer and less severe.
I found the comments about wanting to spend time teaching athletes how to interpret workouts interesting since I feel as a coach I need athletes to teach me how they interpret what I say. “What the heck is this?“ indeed! I mean how can one of two different warm ups from the past two weeks suddenly be done like you have never seen it before at the start of the third week.
Simplifying is good but also re-examine what it is you are doing that makes things “good”. As example, while I have always been around during warm-ups up until this year once the warm-up has been in place (for newbies) I have sort of just let it “go” and observe. I guess it finally dawned on me how much teaching time is lost doing that so this year I have tried to make the warm-up time one of my most active as a coach. Things have not changed dramatically but there is more structure yet in a way it has also made things simpler.
“Solid principles” 100% agreement.
“Teach a man to fish…“ is something I too espouse, I want those I coach to be fully functional whether I am there or not but also to take those skills with them after track is done. Don’t over analyze but know when to question.
But I also enjoy taking a “dig” at those who just follow something put in front of them without thought…during a recovery session, try inserting something as useless as possible/inane and then watch as within a couple of succeeding training days or sessions how many other athletes around will be doing that stretch/action/lift/“skill” (works best when there a quite a few other training groups within a facility at the same time).
Interpretation is a funny thing indeed. My boss is a female and we will both say the exact same words to our individual groups and get entirely different reactions.
The “how you do it” is definitely a key factor in coaching. The better coaches could be doing the same workouts as everyone else, but it is the attention to the little things that make the difference.
Understanding is crucial, but not in the beginning. At first my athletes need to be robots. They need to absorb what I am saying and follow the plan. Then I let them begin to put the pieces the together and understand for themselves. Once a basic understanding of the skill, workout, or yearly plan has been made, then I will present my thoughts to give a deeper understanding. Then they go “OOOOOOhhhhhhhh I get it” Then I smile, assume the zen position and gently blow away as little sand particles.
My high school coach says that track is boring and that is why you have all of the drills, plyos, long practices etc. The first time he said it i laughed and i didnt realize how true it was until i got older and worked with other coaches and athletes. The bottom line is baseline, simple, core track work is mundane and difficult. A lot of runners say they “work hard” but they truly do not understand what hard work is. So any short cut or new training method that doesnt require blood, sweat and tears becomes all the rage. I fell victim to this as well and when i would go back and tell him all of the “stuff” i was doing he would say, “thats great but are doing any running?“ I tell a lot of my friends and people i train with that i respect the runners back in the day more than the current crop. Those guys/gals were running phenomenal times without all of the gimmicks and short cuts many of the track websites and “gurus” promote today. The recipe was/is simple: REALLY train hard, eat right, get stronger(lots of debate on how to do this)and get lots of rest. Sounds pretty simple to me….
