Tuesday, August 09, 2011

A Realistic Training Template For a Busy World

I can’t believe that it’s only four weeks until I leave for Europe. The final phase of my training program has snuck up on me like a ninja in what’s been a chaotically busy summer. But that’s life as a recreational athlete. Every day doesn’t revolve around training. Training comes down to what I can fit in around everyday life. And this is the case for, like, 99% of the people I work with. And one of the major keys to success is getting them to adjust to the fact that their training schedule is a proposal, not game where one wrong turn means that you lose.


Last night I drew up my template for my final prep for Worlds. It’s a guideline for the volume, intensity, and amount of recovery I think I need to be ready for the race. But it’s only a logical proposal based on science. It’s not a daily schedule, even though it looks exactly like one. My realistic goal is to tick off what’s on the plan, and follow its structure, within the constraints of life. This means that my training log will probably look a lot different than what’s written here, but should yield the same results as long as I stick with the principles reflected in the schedule.


I’m writing this because rarely does a day go by when we don’t hear questions from customers who think that if they deviate from their workout schedule all of their hard effort will instantly disappear. We even stopped using suggested days on our schedules because we got so many “if I do Chest & Back on Tuesday instead of Monday will P90X still work?” type of questions.


Training is not magic. It’s not a game or a trick and there is no on and off switch. Our training schedules follow logic and are very important—as is the template I made last night—but only as a guideline. You need not follow the schedules to the letter to get results. You need to adhere to the principles to keep training hard enough, give yourself enough rest between similar workouts, and not over train and hit a plateau. Doing a Turbo Kick class at the gym instead of HIIT 20, a company softball game instead of Kenpo X, or going a little overboard at your friend’s wedding… it’s all just nitpicking. Success comes from training hard, seeing your program though to its end, then finding a new challenge to keep you moving.


The schedule here is my race-prep training only. Not listed is my mobility work (yoga, stretching—at least a short session daily), weight training (one PAP session per week for the next three weeks), prehab/rehab/core (2x/week), and climbing (Worlds are in Spain so climbing is definitely on the agenda—2-3 short sessions per week).


8 comments:

Trainer T.s Fitness said...

Grrrreat plan of action!

Marie-Anne said...

When I'm too busy for my P90X workouts, I usually head on over to www.bodyrock.tv. The workouts are free, quick, and pack a punch! Great for when I'm squeezed for time.

Citizen Deux said...

Interesting. Can anyone outline their weekly hourly commitments? For example (out of a 168hr week);

Work - 40 hrs
Sleep - 48 hrs
Meals - 11 hrs
Workouts - 14 hrs
Commute - 10 hrs
Recovery - 7 hrs
Household Chores - 6
Hygiene - 6

Cole Stephens said...

Awesome post Steve! People do get way too wrapped up in following the letter of the law when it comes to their workouts. YES...do something different every now and again! Do you hear yourself??? You're worrying about what exercise you should do...a couple of months ago, you were lying on the couch watching infomercials...

DaveWard said...

What's a 12 hour endurance ride between friends? LOL. You are crazy.

Steve Edwards said...

Ah, you caught that! That really has nothing whatsoever to do with training. It's--now was--a friend's birthday challenge. It has no business in a build-up for a short, fast race. But I'm a recreational athlete and it's fun, so what the hell?

Shortteacher83 and Thrilledmomof2 said...

That's exactly why I love turbo fire, there is no excuse, u can do whatever u have time for! U made me laugh with the day questions u get! Cause some ppl don't take the turbo fire day off which is day 3, cause they rather a weekend day and I always say, that's why I started my weeks on Thursdays when I was doing turbo fire so I had Saturday off.... hehehehe

Bose said...

Thanks for genuine template, i got a perfect idea!@bose
Training Proposal Template