Posted In: Blog Discussion
Had another interesting ‘out of the box’ thought that I thought might be good for this ongoing Just a Thought blog series. This one is on the idea of giving athletes some guidelines for training options that achieve a similar or nearly similar stimulus and then allowing them to have a little more autonomy and control over workouts by choosing the specific module to achieve that stimulus. In most
ELITETRACK Founder
We are given these types of options during the offseason in order to help keep people interested in the workouts and prevent burnout from working out without the reward of competing. If I remember right it was usually 2-3 options with a guideline for the rest of the week. If choice A is taken today, then choose from either B or C on thursday, etc.
I really enjoyed it.
I’ve always liked the idea of “modular” in fact for a couple of seasons I labeled what I viewed as major a module so strength, speed, speed endurance, flexibility etc. but I found that implementing and using them the way you suggest, while certainly desirable, does not necessarily work out or at least not all in one year.
The critical thing looks to be either chronological age or age within sport/sport training atmosphere. If there is an absolute “newbie”, you are sometimes happy if at the end of the year they grasp, hold on to and make proper use of a single part, say all that is related to warming up, they don’t know what to do with many choices.
There is also this “feeling” or as some would describe the “art” of coaching…in my earlier days I spent a lot of time in various gymnasium settings (weight rooms) and for example, you get a feel for how long a rest should be given how hard the last bout of work was relative to what else you have yet to do or what you have done in the recent past. I was never “fresh as a daisy” after any session but at the same time I was almost never needing help to get to my ride home either but this “feeling” can take years to develop in some cases largely because the athlete simply does not care enough.
From my limited experience, the large majority of athletes do not like being given much choice, they want it put out in front of them or that is the way it looks. I am in a situation now in fact where I more or less spoon fed an athlete what needed to be done in the time remaining until a selection meet/trial and there was not enough feedback; I gave options to cope with work/school, I warned not to ignore this too long without feedback or you will run out of time later (items that I viewed as needing to be in place ASAP due to the time line) and “we” are now already so flippin’ far behind, even some “must haves” will need to be cut out. I know the fault finding is about to start and headed in my direction. Would saying, “here, this is what you do, do not veer from it!” have helped? Doubtful and in some respects worse, since in either case all needs to be athlete driven.
Pro’s
1) Promotes variation
2) Gives the athlete a sense of control/ importance
3) Requires the athlete to have a high sense of kinesthetic awareness
4) Could work well when athlete has minor injuries
Con’s
1) Beginner athletes would struggle with this set up
2) The athlete may always miss what is really best for them by always going with the favorite
3) More difficult to evaluate program
I’m sure theres more but i’ll let others pick them out…
Check out Dr jim Dennisons article on social theory.
It suggests that “everyday coaching practices may have a number of hidden or problematic consequences attached to them”.
The cultural context in which we learn and create our knowledge can actually hinder our true understanding, and application, of the knowledge we originally seek. (MOUTH FULL) So increasing athlete autonomy may help the coach learn more about the athlete (mind body and soul) and how it actually develops during training.
Cons
Coach has to fully understand complex theory in order to effectively manage training entities and their interactions.
It requires the coach to be content with his understanding or “measurement” of training entities. Once he has a conceptual picture he can manage them with a greater artistic pallet. Verns quote “There are two possible outcomes to an experiment: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you’ve made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you’ve made a discovery. (Enrico Fermi)”
Athlete needs to be somewhat in tune with their body. Some Motor/energy systems may be underdeveloped if athlete avoids certain exercise, intensities etc. Unless program is modified to avoid this.
Athlete has to be motivated enough to want to be empowered. Sometimes people just wnt to be ordered around. It gives them security that they are not making the wrong choice. (But Who says the coach is?)
In my opinion, I am just a student of the human body. Training theory, coach mentoring and coaching experience can paint an excellent picture, but i have found it is constantly being retouched and altered day by day for each specific athlete due to situational specific needs. This is especially helpful as i develop as a coach, cos i haven’t been there done that,—- yet! LOL
J
Article mentioned above: https://is.gd/r6Ow
Yeah I do like the idea but have mixed feelings about it. Obviously you would not want to do it all of the time. As mentioned above I think it would probably be better if done at the beginning of the season for more general workouts but as you get more specific I wouldn’t want to do it as much. In rare cases when I haven’t had any Coach telling me what to do after being so use to it, it was weird to have the freedom to choose anything that I wanted to do and any setup for the whole week. I really didn’t like that, but if its just the occasional choice that won’t drastically affect training then I think it’s a great idea.
Due to my coach being in Europe, having to choose certain exercises and length/rep scheme for particular sessions happens to me a lot. Even when communication is not a problem, it’s up to me to let him know whether a prescribed exercise will manage to achieve it’s goal on a certain day. Therefore, currently, no training sessions are inflexible for me.
I think a lot of cons with that kind of approach can be avoided if the athletes are appropriately educated in both the general concepts involved in their events, and the system the coach chose to follow for their development. That way, for one, it would be less likely for athletes to favor certain exercises over others, just because of how they “feel” about them.
I can say i know alot about training, but even i like to be spoon fed haha! Choices can def be a stressor!
This is the fine art of coaching, when to deviate between autonomous to autocratic means with individual athletes. In my opinion, teaching your athletes the what, when, and why’s is crucial before allowing autonomy in workouts. I try to let my athlete’s get creative with stuff like plyos, but I’ll give athlete choice on stuff like upper body weight room work when they start training with me, primarily because I can intervene with other upper body work to enhance on what they do. In my opinion this is where a coach earns their pay, altering the training demands and stimulus to the athlete or allowing the athlete to do it themselves in a semi-autonomous way.
I have used this “choice” format from time to time throughout the year in prep phases and competition phases.
In prep phases I gave specific scripted choices on a day during the cycle that all worked the athlete in a “different means to the same end” approach. A choice of drills the focus on elastic strength, a choice of acceleration drills, etc. In the comp phases, allowing some choice for the athlete can be similar to what we did in the prep phase, or just letting them dicide when and where they want to train for the day.
Advanced athletes can benefit from having some input into their own destiny from what I have seen in athletes I work with. It helps keep them focussed and 100% involved. They choose and learn. If they picked how they are going to work skill during the cycle, you can feel assured they will give it a very solid effort vs. always being forced to do something and never being asked what they might like. No two athletes are the same, some wan’t to be told what to do and not think, and when they are done competeing, drop track like a bad habit and never look back. Others might someday become a coach themselves and are learning and training with a long term mindset, or just like to know why they are doing what they are doing.
I also work with very novice athletes, and instruct and advise them with very little to no choice in their routines. If I educate them properly, when they are advanced, they will be able to have input on their routines and I will glady listen and plan with them.