Reach A New Performance Level in 2011

I had an athlete ask me the other evening “how can I get faster or reach a new level of performance?” If you know me or any other good coach, the answer to this question becomes a series of questions directed back to the athlete. Sorry for this but without knowing one’s goals, habitual training level, commitment level, lifestyle, diet, previous race results etc, it is difficult to provide an appropriate answer beyond the obvious “train more” or “train harder”.

So as I reflected on this question I thought I would share some of my ideas that may offer you a step towards that next level. These are in no order of importance, nor are they meant to imply that you need to do them all. In fact by just implementing one of these ideas you may very well achieve a new level quite easily.

Set meaningful SMART goals: I bet many have lost interest in anything else I have to say. Yes goals are important and the more specific, measureable, action oriented, realistic and set in a time context they are, the more likely you will focus on the goal and achieve it. Your goals should also be meaningful for you and should set a fire under your butt to chase them. You are more likely to get out of bed for that early morning swim or run because the goal is meaningful to you. If the goal is too “airy-fairy” then you will be more likely to dismiss it and miss training.
Far too many people neglect to set goals.

Train more: Seems obvious enough but I wish I had a dollar for every time an athlete said they can’t do anymore training in a week. Look for creative ways to add volume to your monthly plan like doing two training sessions per month that are beyond your regular long session. If 90 minutes is your staple long run duration, look to add 15-20 minutes twice a month. You can also look to add in more time training at higher intensities which can be very effective in the short term (4-6 weeks). If done correctly, you can see an increase in your functional threshold power and overall aerobic conditioning. You should also consider training more in the discipline you feel is your weakest.
Look to increase your training volume by 15-20% on the long days.


Technical practice: Spend more time working on the mechanics of swimming and running during the off-season and continue to integrate these technical sessions during the race season to keep your muscle memory. You may do well to look at adjusting your bike position and equipment choices to find a more comfortable and aerodynamic position. Become a student of the disciplines and learn what perfect technique feels like. You must be mentally focused for these sessions and practice the act of “perfect practice” to gain a benefit. Simply going through the motions or getting by is not conducive to learning or improving.
Dedicate 2 to 3 sessions during the off-season to strict
technical sessions.

Dial in your nutrition: Why leave it until you are 8 weeks away from your goal race? Small tweaks to your nutrition can aid in long term health gains and performance improvements. This does not mean you can’t indulge or enjoy sinful foods or drinks. Use moderation and common sense. Experiment with recovery foods or drinks. Focus on your nutrient timing like eating every 3 hours to keep your blood sugar and hormone levels even. Make changes to the composition of you meals by adding in more protein if you tend to not eat protein regularly, more vegetables and less bread products.
Make the habits stick now versus when you feel you need to be
serious.

Recover better: Take this seriously, especially the masters athletes. Look to get more sleep during the week by getting to bed a bit earlier or sleeping in a bit later. Learn to relax more and look for creative ways to take time for you. Take yoga once a week. Get a massage once every two weeks during the off-season. Couple this with your nutrition tweaks and look at when you eat post workout. The “carb window” is a time in which the body is most sensitive and ready to take in the nutrients from post training meal to restore depleted carbohydrates, electrolytes, water etc and is typically within 30min post activity. Miss time your recovery meal and it could mean you won’t be ready for tomorrow’s training in time.
Add an extra day of rest every two to three weeks.

Add in strength and core training during the off-season: Become a more well rounded athlete and individual by working on areas of weakness in your body. These don’t have to be long arduous sessions but rather more focused sessions addressing many of the key lateral muscles in your hips and the deeper core muscles. This can help offset any potential injury that may be developing in your body. It doesn’t have to be fancy either. Squats, deadlifts, bent over barbell rows, pull-ups and push-ups, lunges or split squats can be effective for total body conditioning.
Identify and work on any muscle imbalances or weaknesses.

Train with others: Groups will always help add extra motivation during key sessions or help increase accountability to stay consistent in your training. However, look for training partners of similar ability level, goals or personalities. No one likes to be “that guy” who is always holding up a group or “that guy” who treats every session as if it was a race.
Determine what you want to get out of training with others.

Train alone: Become a one man wolf pack. Training on your own allows you to focus on your training needs and depending upon how you feel you can adapt a training session as you like. You would be surprised how many people hate being alone and crumble mentally without others. Remember many races force you to be independent and deal with many tough situations on your own. Be ready for them. Most professional roadies train on their own to focus on their needs.
Become comfortable being alone with yourself.

Get tested: Learn about your body and take the advice on what you could stand to work on. Many people who partake in an aerobic sport such as triathlon actually show carbohydrate dependent metabolic profiles meaning their bodies preferentially burn carbohydrates rather than burning fats. Zones can be established to help guide you to training a specific energy system more effectively. Many people don’t like the results of such testing as they are so used to training hard all the time and any advice to slow down does not suit them well. They will always remain stuck in the same performance pattern of being slow and be classified as a “carb burner”. Testing also helps you to see if you are improving, maintaining your fitness or in some instances whether or not you are wasting your valuable time just working out versus training. There is a difference between working out and training.
Identify your strengths, weaknesses and what you should focus on in training.

Hire a coach: You knew this one was coming! Coaches can structure your schedule so you don’t have to think about what you should do tonight. You could also just have an expert coach review your program to see if it fits in with your goals and to offer some new ideas or training ideas. There are tons of magazines, articles, websites, blogs that offer up generic training programs you could follow but in most instances they will let you down as they are not specific enough to your needs. Ultimately they stop doing the schedule altogether due to boredom, monotony and lack of direction.
An outside perspective or different approach can be the
stimulus to improvement.

There you have it, ten ideas I feel can help you reach a new performance level. I have really skimmed the surface of each but hopefully you see the point of each and decide to implement one or more of these ideas into your training. Now is the time to implement these versus waiting until next year when you want to get serious.

JVD