Training Complexity

There seems to be a trend in triathlon of trying to make things more complex than they really are. We've all seen it and we all seem to be a part of it. All you need to do is run a search here on the Web or pick up a multisport magazine and you can work your way into a serious confusion-based tizzy.

I myself have a short list of blogs I like to track every few days but in recent times more and more of them seem to be filled with detailed scientific graphs and indirect advertisements pushing comprehensive training/tracking software programs. There are lengthy, complex write-ups filled with obscure terminology on how I should train. Phrases like "satellite cells" and "sensory acuity" and "central governor" (more commonly known as "brain", an apparatus more and more coaches and athletes seem to be overtraining) are applied far too frequently. Worse yet, at least to me, are the proliferation of abbreviations, as though you're supposed to know what they stand for long before you've ever read them…TSS, LDH, AeT, IF, ATP, COD from UPS, IOU, DUI, RSVP, etc (etcetera). But to me it's NBD I just view it as BS!

My guess is most the authors who pen this sort of **** probably don't fully comprehend what they're saying but come to the conclusion that the phrases sound pretty damn cool and thereby makes them look equally as hip. After all, employing the use of complicated language is a pretty damn good way to make it seem like you know what you are talking about. To me, however, it sounds quite condescending, as though the author of such garbage is almost trying to talk above the rest of us. After all, if others can't possibly identify with what you are lecturing on about, then they're not about to question your authority! The assumption is made that you must know what the hell you're talking about, which of course, isn't always the case.

I have thus (is that really a word?) decided to SIMPLIFY my training philosophy. This should save you thankless hours performing research and hundreds of dollars in magazine subscriptions.

Here's how Simple (my training) philosophy is:
1) Enjoy my training
2) Make sure my training has me improving
3) Make sure that improvement is specific to the event I'm training for
4) Believe in the training (this, of course, is entirely dependent on the above)

My HS coach from way-way back said to me.."There are many training plans (to train to win), the one that works best is always - the one you use."

Thanks Coach! I still believe it.

Frank Pucher