How important is planning? My mantra for years has been failing to plan is planning to fail. So obviously I think it is important, but I have some questions at the concept of periodization achieves popular acceptance. Where does the focus in planning need to be, long term or short term? I have come to the conclusion that the focus must be on detailed short term planning, the actual microcycle and the training session. I have found over the years that the long term plan demands constant adjustment. I used to put too much detail in the long term plan and always end up modifying it or changing it anyway. The other aspect of planning that should demand attention is the planning of the interplay between all the components of training. Is everything in context or is it coming out of left field? Ironically some of the most productive training sessions I have ever had as a coach have come when I threw out the plan and followed my instincts. I guess that is the art of it, but at least I had a plan to throw out! To move forward and make planning more meaningful will require a significant paradigm shift. It will require a move away from the Newtonian, linear, reductionism approach that has gotten us to this point, but will hold us back from making future progress. Advances in science in the twentieth century logically lead us to a quantum approach to planning training. The quantum approach focuses on relationships and connections. Coaching is no more than learning to take advantage of these constantly changing connections and relationships. Using this approach training literally becomes a dance of discovery. It requires the coach to be more involved in monitoring all aspects of training. It is a significant departure from focusing on the parts and assuming that the parts will come together in some sort of sensible usable whole. The plan should constantly look for critical connections that will allow the body to adapt to the stress of training. The body is a fully integrated system; to optimize the performance of this system we must take a systems approach to planning and implementing training.
