THE ART OF TRAINING
A Primer on Endurance Sport Training
My experience in the sport of cycling is long and varied. Having been an elite ranked road and track racer and participated in numerous top-level events both in the U.S. and in Europe exposed me to a wide variety of ideas, tactics, training methodologies and stylistic approaches to the sport.
My own pursuit of cycling greatness ended prematurely in my estimation, due to numerous factors, but my passion for physical excellence and my interest in training and coaching only grew. It was this interest in human performance that caused me to embark on a course of study in exercise science. I have explored the elements of physiology, kinesiology, psychology, nutrition and the social structure of sport. I was relentless in my quest for information from sources outside of the mainstream and much of my research led me to papers and manuals published in the countries of the former Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc nations. Additionally I have drawn form the knowledge and philosophy of brilliant coaches from other sports. Students of sport will recognize my respect for the efficiency and intelligence of the great ones such as Bill Bowerman, Phil Jackson and John Wooden. There is much to be learned from successful coaches and athletes in any and every sport, one needs only look below the surface to the essence of what makes an athlete and a coach great. It is there that most of the wisdom and magic is found.
Regardless of the source(s) of my information, I have been ruthless in my continued refinement of my training protocol. If a method shows promise I investigate it further and am likely to field test it in some manner. Likewise, I am quick to eliminate certain methods from my program that do not deliver regardless of who is supposedly using them and how they have allegedly produced results. I take an unconventional path and my training system reflects a broad base of education and experience as well as an empirical need to validate the worth of everything included or excluded in the program.
My training protocol represents a distillation of experience, science, empirical evidence and efficiency that is uniquely mine. I will be quick to admit though that the similarities will far outweigh the differences with regard to a successful long-term training protocol. There is no magic formula; success comes with patience, persistence, hard work and dedication.
Some will undoubtedly criticize my methods because they are “outdated”. In an era of computerized quantification, power measuring and heart-rate based intensity levels I have found that more simple methods produce the same net effect with much less cost and confusion. In fact, many of the so-called scientific methods of today are nothing more than the 21st. century equivalent of medieval alchemy! There are many important sounding concepts and pseudo-scientific approaches that in reality aren’t much more than slick marketing tricks that appeal to the generally insecure nature of most endurance athletes. Moreover coaches are touting these same gimmicks with little or no background in either the pedagogy or in the scientific research of exercise physiology. Following my methods allows an athlete to develop an intuitive feel for his or her levels of exertion and recovery, which in turn leads to a level of self-knowledge that is imperative to successful long-term training.
It is my desire to offer an outline of my training system that can serve as a frame of reference for the aspiring athlete or up and coming coach. Is my method the only way? No, it is not BUT it is a way that will produce the best results possible with the most efficient and economical use of time, effort and money. Next month I’ll get into more details on core concepts with which I have built my protocol.
By Tom Shook