Jonnyo “invented” that expression: “Getting the work done”. And slowly but surely, the expression and the attitude behind it was adopted by everyone in the posse. I use the word attitude because there really is an attitude behind “getting the work done”.
“Getting the work done" is about trusting what you are doing and focusing all your energy into execution, both in training and racing. The sport of triathlon is full of overthinkers. They overthink everything: nutrition, equipment and of course training. Proof of the existence of these overthinkers is the popularity of triathlon forums, with their endless pages of often pointless discussion. What makes overthinking an issue is that when athletes overthink, they lose focus. Focus on the truly important things: consistency, patience, long-term approach to development. This is a problem for many athletes, but I see it worse when coaches suffer from it. Too many coaches out there overthink their processes and “infect” their athletes with superfluous questioning of every step of the training process. The bottom line is that overthinking is synonym with underachieving.
“Getting the work done” is about consistency. Every athlete has days where it is hard to get out the door for the next workout. Most of the times this is a mental issue that is experienced by athletes at every level. One way of helping the athlete with these issues is to build the schedule around training sessions that do not need a lot of mental energy to accomplish. I like to call them “bread-and-butter” sessions. They are usually short in duration and low-intensity, but are still a very important part of the overall training program. They do not ask much from the athlete in terms of mental commitment and all he/she needs to do is to go out and get the work done.
“Getting the work done” is about expanding your personal boundaries. In order to do that, you have to go to your limit and then past it. You will be in a place where fatigue will cause you to doubt everything you are doing. And you are at that point, the only way is up and for that you need to get the work done.
Finally, “getting the work done” is about commitment to your goals. A lot of people have very lofty goals but hesitate when it is time to do the work that will allow them to accomplish those goals. For the large majority of athletes, what keeps them from achieving their goals is to get the work done.
Now get out there and just… get the work done!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, October 1, 2010
What it takes (reprint)
“What it takes” is an expression everyone likes. The question “Do I have what it takes?” is in the mind of every athlete many times during their athletic career. The question “Do you have what it takes?” is in the mind of any coach whenever he or she starts coaching a new athlete. Yet, the answer to that question is not easy. “What it takes” is very hard to quantify and even hard to show to others. Not a lot of people know what it takes and learning about it is a difficult task, as there are different paths to it.
We all recognize the importance of setting clear, realistic, achievable goals. Most athletes are capable of setting those goals for themselves and with the help of a good, experienced coach, they can have feedback about how realistic and achievable are those goals. But an entirely different question is: Do they have what it takes to achieve those goals? This question is one that is important to athletes of every level.
At both the age-group and elite level, what it takes means commitment and sacrifice. Commitment to put in the right kind of work. Sacrifice of a lot of things that are dear to us in order to put in the right kind of work. Commitment and sacrifice are nice words, words that you can find in any self-help book. Words that maybe get us out the door for the next run. But few of us realize what they really mean because few of us have an idea of what commitment and sacrifice really means. In a society where everything is served to us in a platter, everyone has an increasing difficulty in understanding the real meaning for commitment and sacrifice. And that means that few of us have what it takes.
For those that have what it takes, achieving their goals is the ultimate goal and for that they sacrifice everything else. Among the things they sacrifice is the ego-driven necessity that some athletes have of being in control of every aspect of their lives, which obviously includes their training process. Throughout my years as a coach I have encountered many self-coached athletes that, although with lofty goals and a seemingly unshakeable drive to be the best they can, simply did not have what it takes because of their inability to trust others with their training.
So the question is, do you have what it takes? Well, maybe you don’t. Most sports psychology books talk about accessing your inner potential, about achieving excellence, like it is something that is within reach of every single one of us. In reality, it is something that is accessible to very few of us. Very few of us have the necessary combination of genetic talent, mental skills and social environment in order to achieve personal excellence in triathlon. And there is really nothing wrong with that, since not being able to be a successful athlete is not a character flaw. I have met plenty of very successful people that made for very lousy triathletes.
But maybe, just maybe you have what it takes. How do you know if you have it? It is quite simple: You go through the process. You put the work in. You commit and you sacrifice. And the product of that commitment and that sacrifice will answer the question.
Do you have what it takes?
We all recognize the importance of setting clear, realistic, achievable goals. Most athletes are capable of setting those goals for themselves and with the help of a good, experienced coach, they can have feedback about how realistic and achievable are those goals. But an entirely different question is: Do they have what it takes to achieve those goals? This question is one that is important to athletes of every level.
At both the age-group and elite level, what it takes means commitment and sacrifice. Commitment to put in the right kind of work. Sacrifice of a lot of things that are dear to us in order to put in the right kind of work. Commitment and sacrifice are nice words, words that you can find in any self-help book. Words that maybe get us out the door for the next run. But few of us realize what they really mean because few of us have an idea of what commitment and sacrifice really means. In a society where everything is served to us in a platter, everyone has an increasing difficulty in understanding the real meaning for commitment and sacrifice. And that means that few of us have what it takes.
For those that have what it takes, achieving their goals is the ultimate goal and for that they sacrifice everything else. Among the things they sacrifice is the ego-driven necessity that some athletes have of being in control of every aspect of their lives, which obviously includes their training process. Throughout my years as a coach I have encountered many self-coached athletes that, although with lofty goals and a seemingly unshakeable drive to be the best they can, simply did not have what it takes because of their inability to trust others with their training.
So the question is, do you have what it takes? Well, maybe you don’t. Most sports psychology books talk about accessing your inner potential, about achieving excellence, like it is something that is within reach of every single one of us. In reality, it is something that is accessible to very few of us. Very few of us have the necessary combination of genetic talent, mental skills and social environment in order to achieve personal excellence in triathlon. And there is really nothing wrong with that, since not being able to be a successful athlete is not a character flaw. I have met plenty of very successful people that made for very lousy triathletes.
But maybe, just maybe you have what it takes. How do you know if you have it? It is quite simple: You go through the process. You put the work in. You commit and you sacrifice. And the product of that commitment and that sacrifice will answer the question.
Do you have what it takes?
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sign of the times
Being close to home, I made the trip down south to watch USAT Nationals. And as Brendan Sexton, from Australia, passed Jarrod Shoemaker, the best US athlete, for the win, I saw that as a sign of the times in US triathlon. Not the performances at this race in itself, since this was a race that counted for little for most of the top athletes, but it was kind of an appropriate epilogue for the season.
2010 was a year where US triathletes went either backwards or sideways. Not only in terms of results, which is obvious to anyone, but it seems that the trend is definitely towards worse performances, when we’re less than two years from London 2012. This is undoubtedly a product of the no-structure structure model that was implemented in the last couple of years.
Another worrying trend is the lack of development athletes coming through. I was surprised to see that many of the under-23 athletes are at the same level or worse than when I saw them at the same race last year. The same athletes can’t make the front pack in swimming, the same athletes can’t hold on to their bike pack, the same athletes are visibly overweight and with difficulty is running at a good level.
The only exception in this analysis is Laura Bennett, an athlete that this year returned to her (high) level. But perhaps not by chance, Mrs. Bennett is one of the few US athletes that doesn’t belong to the USAT culture, as her development as an elite athlete has a lot to do with her personal relationship with her husband Greg.
To sum it up, it seems that the issues that I pointed out on a blog entry from 2008 not only have not been addressed, some have worsened. This is what I wrote back then:
“The model that was implemented at USAT since the Head Coach position was abolished relies heavily on the individual athletes and their respective coaches. This would work well in an environment where there is a very strong coaching community. But let’s face it: In order to be a strong nation in triathlon, qualifying 6 athletes for the Olympics and obtaining at least one medal, there needs to be a pool of 10-15 athletes at world-class level. If we’re expecting that these athletes all have their individual world-class coaches, we’re talking of at least 10 world-class coaches in one nation. The problem with this is that 10 is about half of the world-class triathlon coaches in the World. So clearly, this model will not work, because most of the good athletes in a nation will be working with coaches that simply are not qualified for the job. So even if the talent is there, relying on a model based on the individual athletes just breeds mediocrity.”
I think we are seeing the signs of this mediocrity now.
So what is the solution for this crisis? For as painful as this might be for the American way of thinking, US athletes need to start acting more like successful athletes from other countries. They need to embrace the training methods that make others successful. This only means one thing: a strong squad comprised of professional talented athletes, committed to excellence.
2010 was a year where US triathletes went either backwards or sideways. Not only in terms of results, which is obvious to anyone, but it seems that the trend is definitely towards worse performances, when we’re less than two years from London 2012. This is undoubtedly a product of the no-structure structure model that was implemented in the last couple of years.
Another worrying trend is the lack of development athletes coming through. I was surprised to see that many of the under-23 athletes are at the same level or worse than when I saw them at the same race last year. The same athletes can’t make the front pack in swimming, the same athletes can’t hold on to their bike pack, the same athletes are visibly overweight and with difficulty is running at a good level.
The only exception in this analysis is Laura Bennett, an athlete that this year returned to her (high) level. But perhaps not by chance, Mrs. Bennett is one of the few US athletes that doesn’t belong to the USAT culture, as her development as an elite athlete has a lot to do with her personal relationship with her husband Greg.
To sum it up, it seems that the issues that I pointed out on a blog entry from 2008 not only have not been addressed, some have worsened. This is what I wrote back then:
“The model that was implemented at USAT since the Head Coach position was abolished relies heavily on the individual athletes and their respective coaches. This would work well in an environment where there is a very strong coaching community. But let’s face it: In order to be a strong nation in triathlon, qualifying 6 athletes for the Olympics and obtaining at least one medal, there needs to be a pool of 10-15 athletes at world-class level. If we’re expecting that these athletes all have their individual world-class coaches, we’re talking of at least 10 world-class coaches in one nation. The problem with this is that 10 is about half of the world-class triathlon coaches in the World. So clearly, this model will not work, because most of the good athletes in a nation will be working with coaches that simply are not qualified for the job. So even if the talent is there, relying on a model based on the individual athletes just breeds mediocrity.”
I think we are seeing the signs of this mediocrity now.
So what is the solution for this crisis? For as painful as this might be for the American way of thinking, US athletes need to start acting more like successful athletes from other countries. They need to embrace the training methods that make others successful. This only means one thing: a strong squad comprised of professional talented athletes, committed to excellence.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Convenient accountability
Yet another excellent blog post by Wayne Goldsmith:
The Accountability Myth – Why the current Leadership models in High Performance Sport are failing (badly)
My favorite section:
"Accountability is like being pregnant: you either are or you are not.
If you accept a leadership role in a professional team then you are accountable: not half accountable, semi-accountable or fractionally accountable. There is no part-time accountability, no nine day fortnight of accountability with the tenth day off to not be accountable: if you willingly accept a role which includes accountability – then you are accountable.
But, a new accountability has emerged in high performance sport - it’s called Convenient Accountability or Conveccountability for short.
This new accountability – conveccoutability – is the accountability you have when you are not really accountable. It is being accountable only up until when things get a bit ugly, a bit serious (and a bit public), then it becomes an S.E.P. (to quote the late, great Douglas Addams) – a Someone Else’s Problem."
The Accountability Myth – Why the current Leadership models in High Performance Sport are failing (badly)
My favorite section:
"Accountability is like being pregnant: you either are or you are not.
If you accept a leadership role in a professional team then you are accountable: not half accountable, semi-accountable or fractionally accountable. There is no part-time accountability, no nine day fortnight of accountability with the tenth day off to not be accountable: if you willingly accept a role which includes accountability – then you are accountable.
But, a new accountability has emerged in high performance sport - it’s called Convenient Accountability or Conveccountability for short.
This new accountability – conveccoutability – is the accountability you have when you are not really accountable. It is being accountable only up until when things get a bit ugly, a bit serious (and a bit public), then it becomes an S.E.P. (to quote the late, great Douglas Addams) – a Someone Else’s Problem."
Thursday, July 29, 2010
The man is right...
According to the founder of CrossFit, Greg Glassman, "Triathletes are sorely lacking in strength, speed, power, flexibility, accuracy, agility, and coordination."
And... he is right. Because in order to be a proficient triathlete, you really don't need the above abilities in above average quantity. It's called... specificity.
And... he is right. Because in order to be a proficient triathlete, you really don't need the above abilities in above average quantity. It's called... specificity.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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