One drawback that I've encountered with training is a diminished ability to focus outside of training. I either want to be moving at a fast pace, doing as many things as possible, or I want to be stopped and resting, not doing anything. I'm not sure if this is something that only I've come to experience, though it seems like a natural by-product of ramping up your body's metabolism.
I haven't completely lost the ability to find that middle ground, but I'm pretty sure that my attention span has waned a bit since jumping into a fairly consistent training schedule. Admittedly, I wasn't particularly wonderful at this level of focus prior, but still, I've noticed a difference.
In any case, there is definitely an imbalance occurring, and typically, imbalances are not good. So the question quickly becomes: "How can I balance myself out?"
I think the answer lies in the ability to find creative outlets. Creativity is something that, by nature, demands a relaxed pace, yet not a stagnant one. Not to say that creativity is something that comes without hard, intense work (it's as much a discipline as anything else), but it is something that manifests itself when the mind is in a state that lets it wander freely, yet still able to maintain a level of focus. It lets your brain get into that middle ground, between absolute rest, and intense movement.
Which is why, I believe, it is very important for athletes to find their creative side. Whether it is playing music, drawing, reading or anything else, it's absolutely necessary. Otherwise, we just become directionless masochists, who can't sit down long enough to figure out a training schedule, or take a step back to realize that sometimes our body needs a break. And that will undoubtedly lead to burnout.
I don't think it's coincidence that there aren't too many people who are extremely athletic and extremely artistic. It's usually one or the other (taking into consideration, of course, that being extremely good at anything usually requires all of one's time). I guess what I'm saying is that these things aren't tangential to each other. They don't feed into each other. Or, they rarely do. Running and swimming, by comparison, are tangential to each other. Swimming helps one focus on controlled breathing during running, and running helps one gain volume for swimming.
The best athletes aren't the ones who are just incredible workhorses and will obey a coach's every demand, but the ones who have the ability to occasionally take a step back, and consciously process all of the things that are occurring. It is creativity, I believe, that can help to cultivate this ability.
What this translates to is the potential to gain a competitive advantage. If you, as an athlete, can successfully tap into your creative side, you've done something that only a small number of athletes are able to do, and this will certainly help you on race day.
So pick up that guitar/paintbrush/book, and start training!
Monday, October 11, 2010
slow!
I believe the key to getting faster is something quite counter-intuitive: going slow.
Common sense tells us that the path to cycling, running and swimming at a higher cadence during a race is to train at or above these high cadences. Need to comfortably hit 100 rpm on the bike? Spin at 110 rpm or higher. Training is, at least partially, about increased ability through repetition. The more we train at higher cadences, the more naturally it will feel come race day.
While speed work is certainly an important part of training, a crucial piece to increasing the body's ability to move quickly is through slow and deliberate movements.
The natural reaction to this is: "How can I expect to go fast by training slowly?" This certainly holds a fair amount of merit. A classic pitfall of endurance training is having too much of a focus on building volume with long distances. "If you train slow, you'll get really good at going slow", is a quote that comes to mind for most triathletes. And so there seems to be this distinct separation between volume training and speed training.
The problem, as I see it, is that these things end up becoming mutually exclusive. Volume workouts end up being done solely to improve volume, and speed workouts end up being done solely to improve speed. What are the results of this? Essentially, proper form becomes an afterthought:
1.) There is rarely a focus on the mechanics of our form when doing long distance training sessions - We find "the zone" and shut off our brains. We buy indoor trainers for our bikes, which let us watch TV while we ride, and not even worry about staying balanced.
2.) Slow and deliberate movements aren't practiced when speed training - We try to go as fast as we can, paying no attention to our form. We don't employ the things we learned from our volume training to speed train with efficient, effective form.
In order to overcome this, I try to reverse my natural reaction to slow training:
"How can I expect to go fast if I can't go slowly, properly?"
Uttering these words during training sessions forces me to regain focus. I try to focus in on my form in the middle of long runs/rides. I try to step outside of my body and evaluate my gait to see if I'm letting my arms/legs/torso just sort of flop around. I try to maintain as much control as possible when I'm doing speed workouts. It's so easy to just explode with all of your energy to gain a little more speed, but the cost at which it's done is really not worth it. Sure, there are some times where you need to just empty the tank, and push yourself as hard as you can for as long as you can, but that is separate from speed workout.
For me, it's not just about going fast. It's about going fast deliberately. No movement should be left to chance. Every foot placement, every down-pedal, every flutter kick should be done because you decided to do it, not because momentum helped to move things along.
Once form has been mastered at low cadences, speed can slowly be added. This way, you'll ensure that when you are training fast, you're training correctly. You've left nothing to chance. Every move you make is deliberate.
An interesting drill to do is to train in slow motion. How slowly can you move and maintain a proper, fluid form? It's a lot tougher than it seems.
Common sense tells us that the path to cycling, running and swimming at a higher cadence during a race is to train at or above these high cadences. Need to comfortably hit 100 rpm on the bike? Spin at 110 rpm or higher. Training is, at least partially, about increased ability through repetition. The more we train at higher cadences, the more naturally it will feel come race day.
While speed work is certainly an important part of training, a crucial piece to increasing the body's ability to move quickly is through slow and deliberate movements.
The natural reaction to this is: "How can I expect to go fast by training slowly?" This certainly holds a fair amount of merit. A classic pitfall of endurance training is having too much of a focus on building volume with long distances. "If you train slow, you'll get really good at going slow", is a quote that comes to mind for most triathletes. And so there seems to be this distinct separation between volume training and speed training.
The problem, as I see it, is that these things end up becoming mutually exclusive. Volume workouts end up being done solely to improve volume, and speed workouts end up being done solely to improve speed. What are the results of this? Essentially, proper form becomes an afterthought:
1.) There is rarely a focus on the mechanics of our form when doing long distance training sessions - We find "the zone" and shut off our brains. We buy indoor trainers for our bikes, which let us watch TV while we ride, and not even worry about staying balanced.
2.) Slow and deliberate movements aren't practiced when speed training - We try to go as fast as we can, paying no attention to our form. We don't employ the things we learned from our volume training to speed train with efficient, effective form.
In order to overcome this, I try to reverse my natural reaction to slow training:
"How can I expect to go fast if I can't go slowly, properly?"
Uttering these words during training sessions forces me to regain focus. I try to focus in on my form in the middle of long runs/rides. I try to step outside of my body and evaluate my gait to see if I'm letting my arms/legs/torso just sort of flop around. I try to maintain as much control as possible when I'm doing speed workouts. It's so easy to just explode with all of your energy to gain a little more speed, but the cost at which it's done is really not worth it. Sure, there are some times where you need to just empty the tank, and push yourself as hard as you can for as long as you can, but that is separate from speed workout.
For me, it's not just about going fast. It's about going fast deliberately. No movement should be left to chance. Every foot placement, every down-pedal, every flutter kick should be done because you decided to do it, not because momentum helped to move things along.
Once form has been mastered at low cadences, speed can slowly be added. This way, you'll ensure that when you are training fast, you're training correctly. You've left nothing to chance. Every move you make is deliberate.
An interesting drill to do is to train in slow motion. How slowly can you move and maintain a proper, fluid form? It's a lot tougher than it seems.
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