Appropriate Training

This post arises from the growing trend that I see from athletes in all types of sports in all age ranges. There are plenty of athletes who choose to follow rigorous training programs, many a mirror of programs that top athletes in their sport follow. These programs are usually highly advanced and require a lot of skill/talent, a lot of desire, and a large background in the sport. There are several reasons why that specific athlete has arisen to the top of their sport and can follow certain routines. One should not simply try to imitate such training.

Now let me get this out the way before I am accused of catering to the crowd who wants to be told they can get fit off of minimal training, etc. I am not advocating any sort of minimalistic training here. What I am advocating is appropriate training. Run, workout, swim, bike, etc., as much as you need to reach the goals you set, but no more. We need to realize that our bodies are made differently than those who are winning the competitions on the national and international level and if we want to reach our potential we need to train for what our own bodies need.

Very few people are would be able to recreate Casey Viator’s training, and just as few could probably recreate the mega mileage ultra-marathon runner Anton Krupicka does, or even swim the 50 miles a week Michael Phelps did before the Beijing Olympics. So does that mean we have to live in futility because we cannot recreate the training the elites do? In no way. But what it does mean is that these are the elite of the elite in their respective fields, being world-class by their early 20s if not earlier. Krupicka ran a marathon at age 12. Sometimes people have extraordinary genetics that allow them to train harder, faster, and tougher than the average person. Once again this doesn’t solidify their place atop the podium, but it offers them advantages that you cannot simply gain from training. So what do we do? We continue to train and focus on doing the best we can with the athlete and the parameters of their ability. Finding the proper training threshold is of utmost importance to taking each individual athlete to their highest performance capability.

So how little is too little and how much is too much? The only way you will know is by pushing the envelope and seeing what you body can handle. This should be done systematically, and never all at once. Increasing any combination of duration, intensity, and frequency at the same time can be a recipe for injury. Gradually push yourself until you find your “sweet spot” for training. Some people prefer to have long workouts or runs with low intensity, and these can be done fairly often. Others may find that they prefer to go hard for a short amount of time, but this isn’t recommended to be done everyday. The central nervous system needs time to recover from hard workouts too.

The last part we will discuss in this segment is properly utilizing the idea of the FIT principle. FIT stands for frequency, intensity, and time (duration). Like we mentioned before, for low intensity exercises you may be able to do them often (frequency) and for extended sessions (time). But a high intensity exercise can only be done a few times a week (frequency), although time can vary depending on the extent of the intensity exercise. Maximal efforts can rarely be done more than once every few days, if not a week or longer depending on the event. FIT is a good rule of thumb to help balance a training plan and make sure proper rest and recovery is incorporated into the plan, a component just as vital as the training itself.

All in all, everyone has their own recipe for success. Top athletes can be looked to as guides for good training habits and general training ideas, but each and every athlete is different and must find their own personal plan to achieve optimal success.