Training Plans

Today I want to share a bit about training plans.  As a certified IM and USAT coach, I've learned how to appropriately get athletes to the start line with training that keeps you accelerating your athletic ability.  

First, how is this done?  Physically, the body needs pressure to grow muscles, capillaries, blood volume, and bone strength.  This requires that you do things that feel difficult for short or long periods.  Knowing when to do short or long sets is part of what a coach will do for you.  In addition, you need to exercise properly to get the benefits fully and avoid injury.  That means proper posture and understanding which muscles to use to attain the best outcomes for any exercise.  Many athletes begin training without the benefit of a coach's analysis of posture or weakness, or imbalance issues.  Over time, repetition and body adaptation can result in minor to major injuries.  We are often encouraged to "tough it out," but this can be when you must re-evaluate your processes to ensure you haven't set yourself up for eventual failures and injuries.  Slowing down to maintain good body positioning isn't fun, but it really does help you get much faster in the future! 

So once you know what good posture means in any activity, your coach can begin pressuring your body to build.  Good training programs normally periodize.  This means that you will experience 2-3 weeks of increasing demands on the body and then get a reduction to allow the body to recover.  This is essential to maintaining progress.  The body needs time without pressure to build new muscle, bone, capillaries, and blood volume.  If you skip this recovery, you keep demanding more from a body that does not have the systems in place to respond.  Often this results in injury, fatigue, loss of motivation to keep training, loss of sleep, or emotional breakdowns.  This is called "overtraining."  

This link provides more detail about periodizing for runners.  This gives you some of the history and how periodizing became standard. 

In addition, each week, at least one rest day allows the body to respond with building activities.  You can skip rest days a few times, but it isn't helpful to your future outcomes.  

    WHAT IF I SKIP A TRAINING SET? SHOULD I ADD IT IN THE NEXT DAY? 

Short answer; NO!  Your training program assumes you will be doing a certain level of intensity and stress each day.   If you miss a day, just keep going forward and trust the program.  Adding yesterday's set to today will double the intensity and begin to wreck the plan.  Dont chastise yourself; let it go.  Keep a positive attitude and forgive yourself if life gets in the way.  If you skip because of a lack of motivation or fatigue, talk to your coach. The program may need revision to reflect your needs better.  Don't overdo it because the program says to...avoid injury and keep your joy and excitement about your training alive.  

Get across the finish line with a smile!