Hello ,,
Sometimes, one small insight can be the key you need to get to another level of fitness, or to find a routine that makes everything click. Let's explore how to learn from your own experience rather than following someone else's template.
3 Insights About Training Patterns
I.
Small disruptions often cascade into more general upheaval. When one small thing goes wrong your routine gets disrupted and it can affect everything else. Knowing your routines and tracking their status can quickly highlight danger signs and keep you on track.
II.
Similarly, a small insight can be the key to put everything on track and start a period of unprecedented improvement. Analysing short and long term impacts of training sessions and actions can help you spot good habits that support each other and help you make big gains. Maybe taking an extra day off or moving a session to a different day would make a big difference to the quality of what you do.
III.
What works for someone else might not work for you. Instead of following what you think you should do, learn to spot the things that work for you. Be your own scientist - observe, learn, and adjust based on your experience and try to be objective.
2 Questions For Your Next Session
I.
Looking at your most consistent period of good training in the past year, what was the key elements that made it work so well?
II.
What parts of your training log have helped you make better decisions, and what parts could you simplify or remove to give you more clarity and time for something more effective?
1 Real-World Example
After Karen Darke won silver in the London Paralympics, we were naturally drawn to looking for ways to make the jump to gold in Rio 2016. The obvious path seemed to be developing more explosive power as it was a clear weakness. We spent three years working on building muscle and anaerobic capacity, but it just wasn’t working. Karen just doesn’t have the physiology to make big gains in that area.
We realised that getting back to the basic good routines of building Critical Power/FTP was the best way to go, making her more resilient and less fatigued at any given power. She could never match the surges of her rivals but by being smart and having a strong sustainable power she could make decisive efforts when needed and hold onto a good pace. We combined what we learned and developed the things we could, like aerobic fitness and specific skills to get the Gold in Rio.
The work between London and Rio wasn't wasted - we learned a lot from it, even though it didn't deliver what we'd hoped. Could she have done better with a different approach? Who knows? What matters is that we were willing to recognize when something wasn't working and move on to something that did.
Learning to spot small things that lead to good habits and routines is often the key to finding a successful training plan that works for you.
