In my most recent “Hour of Power” chat with registered dietician & elite athlete, Erin Green, she was asked “What is the ‘right’ diet?” Great question! (Side Note: If you’d like to hear her answer, click here…it starts at about 27:45). That question resonated with me because I get asked the exercise version ALL the time – “What’s the ‘right’ training program?” My short answer: It depends. My longer answer…keep reading!
To more completely answer the question of “What’s the ‘right’ training program?”, I identify 3 criteria that need to be met:
Criteria #1: Program/Goal Match
To state the obvious…the training program must address the needs of the goal. Strangely (because this seems SO basic) you’d be surprised how many athletes are focusing on things that DON’T address their goal needs. Here are a few disconnects that endurance athletes often have in their programs:
Goal #1: To swim faster. Training: Long steady continuous same-paced swims.
Goal #2: To do a 70.3 bike leg. Training: Doing more indoor riding to avoid weather conditions and/or purchasing appropriate riding gear.
Goal #3: To push a bigger bike gear. Training: Just riding more instead of making time for strength workouts.
Goal #4: To complete the race distance. Training: Adding more & more & more volume. Cutting out rest days.
Goal #5: To be a faster athlete. Training: Defaulting to their “comfortable” training pace. (Click here to read more on this topic).
Addressing goal needs often requires that we get out of our comfort zone & do things differently. But let’s be honest! Isn’t that why we choose goals that are a stretch? If the goal itself is a challenge for us, then you can bet that we’ll need to come up with a training program that takes us into new territory & new thought processes. So, take some time to evaluate what successfully achieving your goal will really require of you & then choose workouts that best address those requirements.
Criteria #2: Addresses Your Areas of Potential
When developing your “right” training program, your areas of potential (some would call these “weaknesses”) are a key consideration. The easy part is focusing on your strengths, right? We all like to feel competent, on top of things, like an expert. But you really are only as strong as your weakest link. Those things you avoid…those things you don’t like…those things are really what you need to focus on. For if you don’t – I promise you – they will rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune time!
Dislike swimming? Get thee into swim lessons or a group swim program. Don’t like lifting weights? Hire thee a personal trainer or find a lifting buddy. Scared of getting a flat tire? Take a tire changing class (there’s one coming up on Apr 3 at TriTown) and/or change one 1x per week from now until race day. Worried about running well after being on a bike? Every time you get off your bike, do a short 10-15min run…EVERY TIME. Afraid of cornering at speed on your bike? Hire a coach to help you with technique, watch a few YouTubes & then get out there & practice. And the list goes on & on & on. So, to sum up, the “right” training program builds in focus on the areas we need to improve upon often by decreasing the focus on our strong areas.
Criteria #3: Sustainability
When I was a personal trainer, I was often asked what “the best” piece of home exercise equipment was. Maybe a treadmill or an elliptical or a stationary bike? You know the answer: The “best” piece of equipment is the one you’ll use! Same goes for the “right” training program. The “right” training program is the one that you’ll do…over the long haul. This means that the program has to…
- Minimize Injury Risk
- Minimize Risk of Overtraining & Chronic Fatigue
- Be a bit Boring (Yes, I argue that there is a fair amount of boredom necessary in a good training program.)
- Gradually Change the Variables
- Be Nimble Enough to Adjust for Illness, Unforeseen Circumstances
If the above factors form the basis of the training program, then you’ll be able to adhere to it day in, day out, month in, month out, year in, year out. This sustainability is critical because we get THE BEST results from long-term adherence. If you strength train 1x per week for the next 50 yrs of your life, you’ll get more benefit than if you head to the gym 3x per week for 4 months…and then get injured…and then have to take 3 months off to heal…and then go back into the gym & lift 3x per week only to get injured again. I’m not saying you can’t lift 3x per week. But, if that 3x per week creates an overload situation when combined with all of the other training you are doing…well, we have to ask…is that sustainable? Perhaps not!
So, there you have it, athletes. There’s my long answer to the “What’s the ‘Right’ Training Program?” question. I hope these ideas help!
Happy Training!
If you’d like to chat more about how these concepts can help you train more effectively, schedule a 30min Free Zoom Consult. For more info on Coaching, click here.