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Training Tips are designed to shed light on different aspects of training that may seem basic, but are often overlooked. 
Read. Enjoy. Train. 

Goals: Why most people fail

2/17/2015

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Goals. These are both my favorite aspect of athletics as well as my least favorite. How can they be both you ask? Simple, they are the most powerful tool in psychological training but also the tool that gets misused the most. The following blog is a guide that will help you achieve most of your goals this  year. Whether those goals be athletic, life, personal, or community driven, there are certain steps you should take in order to reach them.

Where do most people fail?
 I can't tell you how many people I see making lofty goals. This isn't the problem!
The problem is that everyone makes outcome goals but fails to ever make performance and process goals. Without performance and process goals, outcome goals are simply just a dream. Think of a house that has two stories but no staircase to let you reach the second floor. This is what an outcome goal looks like by itself. however, when you add in the steps (process goals) and railing (performance goals), you are magically able to reach the next level of your theoretical house.

Show me an example of these goals
 I will use this example because I've already seen 10+ athletes make the same goal. Winning a state time trial championship. Here is how this looks most of the time

Goal: Win the state time trial championship...

Here is how it should ALWAYS look

Outcome goal: Win the state time trial championship
Performance Goal: Improve my cycling threshold from 280 watts to 315 watts
Process goal: Ride X number of hours a week on average and accumulate "X" training stress score on average for "x" amount of time

Which goal do I focus on?
This is my favorite part. You focus 95% on the process goal. In return, your process goal is going to allow you achieve your performance goal. Then, your performance goal will allow you to achieve your outcome goal. The outcome goal is only there to keep your motivation high for the duration of the season. However, it is the process goal that you are constantly focused on. If you can maintain your process goal, you are going to be in a much better place when it comes time to try and achieve your outcome goal.

Closing thoughts
Goals should follow the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time specific) guidelines. Be sure to associate numbers with your goals so you have something objective to strive for. Finally, I'll leave you with this. Outcome goals aren't always within your control due to weather conditions, who shows up at a race, or other un-controllables. However, process goals are always within your control. Its the process goals that change who you are as an individual, the outcome goal is simply just an outcome of all your hard work. Don't ever forget that you are made during the journey, not solely because of one day.
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how long to focus on big event?

2/2/2015

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The big question I get from many athletes is when do I need to start focusing on my training if I'm doing "x" event on "x" date. I'm here to say that yes there is too long and yes there is too short. So that begs to ask the question stated above, how long to focus on a big event.
 Some may say a year in advance, and depending on who you ask you may come across different answers, but what I find best is 6-8 months of structured training leading up to an event works best. There are so many things that go with this though that I feel I must touch on all aspects regarding time and training load.

I've heard that the longer you can train the better for endurance sports
 This statement is correct in the right context. While you do get better in endurance sports over years of training (up to about 50 years old +/- 5) the goal here is not to have a focus on a big event the entire time. Some of the best adaptations you can make in your body are the coffee shop bike rides, easy 3-5 mile runs, or 1 hour of cross training that doesn't seem to have any other purpose then getting outdoors. However, if your "A" race is in July and you are pushing yourself in October or November, you are pushing too early. Simply enjoy the ride/run/ski/etc and save the mind games for Jan-July

Why is it bad to focus on the event more than 6 months in advance?
This is just to long to maintain physical form and mental sharpness. The body can build up for 2-3 peaks in an optimal year for best results. If you start to build in November for a July race and ramp up training, the likely scenario is that you will either plateau your fitness over time, overtrain, become injured, or burn out from the mental exhaustion of continuous training. This is often a mistake of new athletes thinking they will continue training from one season to the next and make huge changes. 
 This isn't to say its bad to train when you're further than 6 months out. Again, remember years of endurance training build an aerobic base that is needed. However, having a focus and structured training for an event a long time out is what I would caution against.

So when should I structure my training and how do I do that?
This is why you hire a coach! About 6 months is the amount of time I see fit if you go from non-specific to specific. What this might look like for a 40km TT athlete prepping for state championships is
Month 1: Slowly build volume
Month 2: slowly add in 75-80% effort with some volume
Month 3: Bring in shorter efforts with some 5-8 min 95-105% efforts
Month 4: Build duration of volume and efforts up to 10-15 min
Month 5/6: 15-30 min 90-105% efforts mixed in with some volume.

So as you get closer to the event, you start to get more and more specific to the race and what it will need from your body. The whole time you are building fitness through volume, frequency and intensity of training, but you are doing so in a way that allows your last 2 months to be very race specific.

So what should my main take-away be?
There is a time and place to train hard and specific to your race. That time is not all year!  I assume because we are in February, most of you will be targeting big races within the next 6 months. That means now is the time for you to come off your un-structured "off-season" and start to slowly build back into a consistent training pattern with a thought or two about your big event. However, if you don't have your big event for the year until October... don't push too early. You will stall out and not satisfy your overall goals.
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    Author

    Derek is a Level III USAC coach with his masters degree in Coaching Sports Performance, his passion is to help others in the sports of cycling and triathlon.

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