A Brief Discussion of Training Theory

I recently attended a Track and Field coaching seminar, where I received my first exposure to formal training for coaching. The whole experience was absolutely amazing, and I was very thankful for the opportunity to learn from such erudite and experienced instructors.

One of the most interesting things I learned about at the seminar (there were several, but this one lends itself well to blogging) involved a grounding in modern training theory. The reason I think it lends itself well to blogging is that, while each track discipline has it's specific drills, exercises, and components of fitness, all share a general understanding of how training should be approached today (or so the theory holds). So while I come from the topic from a distance-running perspective, what follows bears some application to all perspectives. That is my hope at least.

An important element of contemporary training theory assumes that specific stresses lead to specific adaptations. Accordingly, the most specific exercise you can do to prepare for an event is the event itself, repeatedly (ex: an 800m runner races the 800m over and over, or a triple-jumper performs dozens of full jumps in practice).

Due to its specificity, such an exercise has great value. It also bears great costs; you'll get a strong stimulus, but it will heavily tax your body. This leads to another important element of contemporary training theory, in that the benefits of an exercise should always be measured against its cost. An athlete's ability and available time to train is a scarce (that is to say "finite", not necessarily "small") resource, so choices must ultimately be made about how those resources can be effectively employed. Like an investor, athletes and coaches might ask, "How can I get the most goods for the lowest price?" where "goods" are adaptations to training, and "price" is the stress that compels those adaptations to occur, and the time in which it all happens. Among other reasons, elite athletes are excellent subjects for study in this regard, because they spend so much time near this margin of their training potential. Many surpass it from time to time and become injured, but that detracts little from the fact that professional athletes are constantly assessing the cost-benefit of everything they do in training, since their reputations, livelihood, and long-term health depend on it.

These are important insights, particularly within the context of training theory's history. It was long believed (and remains so in some circles) that the best training was simultaneously the most rigorous; the more pain one could endure, the faster would be one's progress. Contemporary training theory suggests otherwise. An athlete has a finite amount of time and durability with which to maximize their athletic potential. They have scarce resources with which to work, and as with money, poor investments in training can leave a promising prospect prematurely destitute. I believe this is something worth remembering.

Happy Friday, friends :)

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