Program Design: Art and Science

From Vince Gambetta

Program design is a process that is a blend of art and science tempered with a heavy dose of practical experience. I always want to get it “right,” therefore there is always a degree of fine-tuning both in designing the microcyles and the design and implementation of each training session. Ultimately it comes down to knowing the athlete’s you are working with, how they respond to training, what hey bring to the table.

Paulo On His Coaching Style

From Slowtwitch

I believe the coach should determine the path to success, and be ready to intervene whenever the process deviates from that path. In order for that intervention to be successful, the coach needs to have the “right” relationship with the athlete.

Finding the Right Mix

From Macca

Perfecting three disciplines is difficult, especially when these disciplines work against each other in their development. The A frame of a swimmer, is not good for running. The short hamstrings of cycling and the inward knee action of the pedal stroke, kill running form and shorten hamstrings, the eccentric contractions of running and the muscle damage limit the efficiency in a pedal action. These three sports play against each other, so MIX is everything if you want to be as fast as you can be. Those athletes who come across to this sport and don’t respect this from the onset, always end up injured and humbled. It’s a puzzle of perfection and it takes time and commitment to master.

Endurance Training Slows Top End Speed

From Matt Fitzgerald

The problem with this weightlifting expert’s argument is that the training required to increase your maximum sprint speed will reduce—sharply, in most cases—the percentage of maximum speed that can be sustained over long durations. So the runner who begins with a maximum speed of 18 mph and the ability to sustain 50 percent of that speed over 10K, and who then increases his or her maximum speed to 20 mph, is now able to sustain only 40 percent of his or her maximum speed over 10K and goes from a 41:20 10K runner to a 46:30 10K runner.

Coaching People Not Sports

From Vernon Gambetta

I am the coach of people not sports. Coaching sports is easy, that is the X's and O's, the sets and reps, the intervals, and anyone can learn that stuff in a book. Coaching people is tough; it demands understanding of what makes each athlete tick. You must never compromise your foundational beliefs. Know why you coach. Know why your athletes participate. Make sure your management or coaching style is your means of implementing your philosophy and remember the cornerstone of any effective coaching style is communication.

Less Volume, More Rest

From Healthynomics

Part of me wants to say that it has evolved tremendously, but much of the training in the United States remains dated, naive and backward. The over-reliance on volume without recovery still leads to a big problem of over training and athletes of all levels arriving to races fit, but tired. The positive is that there is a tide of change beginning to occur.

Less Thinking

From The Sport Factory

George Sheehan wrote, in Running to Win (1992), “of all the lessons sport teaches us about life, perhaps none is more dramatic than the danger of focusing on the outcome.” A part of our nature, we have a tendency to focus on winning or losing, success or failure. By focusing solely on the outcome, our enjoyment and our performance may suffer. A “don’t think, just run,” mentality keeps us focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, as fast as we can, rather than just thinking about the finish line.