Introduction
When an athlete "peaks" too early in the season, it is usually the result of programming errors.
Think of each separate training session as a piece of a puzzle. How you put it all together determines if the end-product resembles an actual image, or if it ends up chaotic, amorphous and functionless. There are many, many athletes who have the right puzzle-pieces, so to speak, but they put it together all wrong. Keeping training varied and differentiated is critical to success, but so is proper programming. Most athletes fail to achieve the results they're looking for because they failed to plan effectively.
One of the most common questions I get from athletes is something along the lines of, "Here's my problem, I've been doing CrossFit for 'X' number of days, and I've gotten strong and powerful, but my run times are crap - what am I doing wrong?"
The aforementioned statement alone is enough to begin identifying programming errors. The athlete in question is probably following a "three-days on, one-day off" protocol, or a "two-on, one-off, three-on, one-off" protocol, and they're doing so continually, indefinitely. He is probably regularly executing dynamic lifts. The majority of his training is likely falling in either the glycolytic or phosphagenic pathway. He is probably running little, if at all.
With just a little additional information, we may proceed to address programming errors in order to help the athlete put the puzzle together more effectively.
Programming Error #1 - "Training Inside The Box"
The first and most common programming error that I see in athletes is "getting boxed in" by a weekly schedule. It's an easy mistake to make. Our lives pretty much revolve around the work-week, and so, by proximity, our training typically mirrors that schedule. Inevitably, what usually happens is that the athlete in question tries to cram too much into one seven-day cycle, and, as a result, he compromises his ability to adapt to the training.
Picture this, picture-thissers - If I roll an Atlas Stone 100 feet forward, and then 90 feet backwards, I've moved a total of 190 feet, but I'm only 10 feet from where I started. The net outcome is ridiculously and disproportionately smaller than the net input. Programming error.
Your muscles, mitochondria and neurons do not think - they do not perceive a repetitious seven-day schedule. Everything you do (or do not do) to your body is recorded, tabulated and remembered. The effects of training are accumulative (emphasis added). And so, the first thing I suggest to my athletes is to start training "outside the box", and get out of the mentality of a seven-day cycle. Think instead in terms of linear progress, and order your training accordingly.
Programming Error #2 - "Too Many Junk Miles"
Another programming error I see with athletes who are trying to improve power and endurance simultaneously is that they're running (rowing, swimming, biking) too many junk miles. These athletes put enormous thought and calculation into their "gym" days, but when they put their shoes on and rubber meets the road, their training is remarkably bland and boring. It's usually something like a three or four mile run at seven-to-eight-minute pace. Every single time. Programming error.
So I encourage the athlete to exchange "junk miles" for "quality miles".
For starters, I tell my athletes that for every four running sessions they execute, only one of them should be a long run, the object of which is to accumulate miles. So, for the purposes of this discussion, we have run-days 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' - run-day 'D' should be your long run. Too much long-distance aerobic effort compromises the body's ability to adapt to power-oriented efforts, which hinders muscular development - remember, that backwards-rolling Atlas Stone we were talking about?
Moreover, precisely where this long-distance aerobic effort falls into the programming is also critical. What I have found in myself, and in my trainees, is that an athlete can perform an endurance session relatively shortly (12-24 hours) after a power-oriented session, and the heavy lifting efforts do not compromise the athlete's aerobic capacity and durability. However, in contrast, athletes who perform a max-effort or dynamic-effort lifting session less than 24-hours after an endurance session will experience a significant reduction (15-20%) in their ability to recruit muscle fibers and generate force. I tested five athletes using this protocol. During our control model, athletes who waited 48 hours after an endurance run before performing a dynamic effort were able to achieve 95% of their 1RM in the Power Clean. However, when we introduced the variable and had these athletes perform a Dynamic Effort only 24 hours after an endurance run, they were only able to achieve at best 85% of their 1RM and, at worst, 70% of their 1RM. And so, as a result, we have found that athletes should allow their bodies to recuperate for 48 hours after an endurance run before performing their next max-effort or dynamic-effort lifting session.
So what about run-days 'A', 'B' and 'C'? What do we do on those days if they're not supposed to be long-run days?
Ideally, day 'A' will be your interval day. Interval training improves an athlete's speed without compromising muscular development and power gains. An athlete can easily perform intervals on the same day that he performs a dynamic lift, and he will not see a significant decrease in force production.
Day 'B' should be a Tempo Run. These efforts should be performed over short-distances (two to five miles) at 110-115% of race pace. We have found that Tempo Runs can be performed the day after a "gym" session, but should not be performed on the same day.
Finally, run-day 'C' should consist of Volume Training. Volume Training, such as hill repeats, is a way that the body can increase its ability to maximize force production and improve endurance simultaneously. Like Tempo Runs, Volume Training is extremely taxing on the body, and should not be performed the same day as Max- and Dynamic-Efforts. And when I say "Volume Training", I'm talking about 20 to 30 x Hill Repeats at a 30+% gradient. Not four or five repeats. Don't cheat yourself, Johnny Cut-Corners.
Programming Error #3 - "Poor Mobility"
The third most common error I see is athletes who have no plan for any sort of joint mobilization. Too many athletes neglect their joints and ligaments, and so, quid pro quo, their joints and ligaments revolt and decide to neglect them in return.
Look, to use weights as an analogy, if I'm moving the bar and it requires me to generate 80.5 pounds of force to move it from position 'A' to position 'B', and I have the ability to generate 805 pounds of force, then I can move the bar 10 x times. But if I add 80.5 pounds of band resistance to that bar, I can only move it 5 x times. Why? Because I've added resistance to the bar without adding any actual weight to the bar.
Well, when you move your body forward, it's no different than moving any other weight. Your body is, all things considered, a giant weight that you carry with you all of the time. When you neglect your joints, ligaments and tendons - and you have poor range of motion - it's like adding band-resistance to your legs. An athlete with poor range of motion will have to generate more force production to move his legs the same distance as an athlete with optimum range of motion. And so arguably, you could actually have a heavier athlete with ideal range of motion who can out-run and out-last a lighter athlete who has poor range of motion.
Mobilize your joints and limbs. A mobile athlete is an efficient athlete. An efficient athlete has better movement economy. And better movement economy means improved endurance. So don't neglect your joints - show them some love and spend at least ten to fifteen minutes of quality time with them every day.
Putting It All Together
And the programming doesn't end there. The intent is for your programming to be a linear progression, not a repeating cycle. Your progress is measured in time. You should see steady improvement in your over-all power, and steady improvement in your endurance capacities.
The linear progression allows the athlete the flexibility he needs to shift efforts, focusing either on power or on endurance, depending on which area requires the most improvement at the given moment in time. Cutting out the junk miles ensures that the athlete is not compromising his power gains by over-training endurance. And, finally, show your joints love - lots and lots of love. Because if you love your joints, they will love you in return. And if you follow these guidelines, rehydrate, refuel and sleep properly, and you will transcend those plateaus.
Train Hard.
When an athlete "peaks" too early in the season, it is usually the result of programming errors.
Think of each separate training session as a piece of a puzzle. How you put it all together determines if the end-product resembles an actual image, or if it ends up chaotic, amorphous and functionless. There are many, many athletes who have the right puzzle-pieces, so to speak, but they put it together all wrong. Keeping training varied and differentiated is critical to success, but so is proper programming. Most athletes fail to achieve the results they're looking for because they failed to plan effectively.
One of the most common questions I get from athletes is something along the lines of, "Here's my problem, I've been doing CrossFit for 'X' number of days, and I've gotten strong and powerful, but my run times are crap - what am I doing wrong?"
The aforementioned statement alone is enough to begin identifying programming errors. The athlete in question is probably following a "three-days on, one-day off" protocol, or a "two-on, one-off, three-on, one-off" protocol, and they're doing so continually, indefinitely. He is probably regularly executing dynamic lifts. The majority of his training is likely falling in either the glycolytic or phosphagenic pathway. He is probably running little, if at all.
With just a little additional information, we may proceed to address programming errors in order to help the athlete put the puzzle together more effectively.
Programming Error #1 - "Training Inside The Box"
The first and most common programming error that I see in athletes is "getting boxed in" by a weekly schedule. It's an easy mistake to make. Our lives pretty much revolve around the work-week, and so, by proximity, our training typically mirrors that schedule. Inevitably, what usually happens is that the athlete in question tries to cram too much into one seven-day cycle, and, as a result, he compromises his ability to adapt to the training.
Picture this, picture-thissers - If I roll an Atlas Stone 100 feet forward, and then 90 feet backwards, I've moved a total of 190 feet, but I'm only 10 feet from where I started. The net outcome is ridiculously and disproportionately smaller than the net input. Programming error.
Your muscles, mitochondria and neurons do not think - they do not perceive a repetitious seven-day schedule. Everything you do (or do not do) to your body is recorded, tabulated and remembered. The effects of training are accumulative (emphasis added). And so, the first thing I suggest to my athletes is to start training "outside the box", and get out of the mentality of a seven-day cycle. Think instead in terms of linear progress, and order your training accordingly.
Programming Error #2 - "Too Many Junk Miles"
Another programming error I see with athletes who are trying to improve power and endurance simultaneously is that they're running (rowing, swimming, biking) too many junk miles. These athletes put enormous thought and calculation into their "gym" days, but when they put their shoes on and rubber meets the road, their training is remarkably bland and boring. It's usually something like a three or four mile run at seven-to-eight-minute pace. Every single time. Programming error.
So I encourage the athlete to exchange "junk miles" for "quality miles".
For starters, I tell my athletes that for every four running sessions they execute, only one of them should be a long run, the object of which is to accumulate miles. So, for the purposes of this discussion, we have run-days 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' - run-day 'D' should be your long run. Too much long-distance aerobic effort compromises the body's ability to adapt to power-oriented efforts, which hinders muscular development - remember, that backwards-rolling Atlas Stone we were talking about?
Moreover, precisely where this long-distance aerobic effort falls into the programming is also critical. What I have found in myself, and in my trainees, is that an athlete can perform an endurance session relatively shortly (12-24 hours) after a power-oriented session, and the heavy lifting efforts do not compromise the athlete's aerobic capacity and durability. However, in contrast, athletes who perform a max-effort or dynamic-effort lifting session less than 24-hours after an endurance session will experience a significant reduction (15-20%) in their ability to recruit muscle fibers and generate force. I tested five athletes using this protocol. During our control model, athletes who waited 48 hours after an endurance run before performing a dynamic effort were able to achieve 95% of their 1RM in the Power Clean. However, when we introduced the variable and had these athletes perform a Dynamic Effort only 24 hours after an endurance run, they were only able to achieve at best 85% of their 1RM and, at worst, 70% of their 1RM. And so, as a result, we have found that athletes should allow their bodies to recuperate for 48 hours after an endurance run before performing their next max-effort or dynamic-effort lifting session.
So what about run-days 'A', 'B' and 'C'? What do we do on those days if they're not supposed to be long-run days?
Ideally, day 'A' will be your interval day. Interval training improves an athlete's speed without compromising muscular development and power gains. An athlete can easily perform intervals on the same day that he performs a dynamic lift, and he will not see a significant decrease in force production.
Day 'B' should be a Tempo Run. These efforts should be performed over short-distances (two to five miles) at 110-115% of race pace. We have found that Tempo Runs can be performed the day after a "gym" session, but should not be performed on the same day.
Finally, run-day 'C' should consist of Volume Training. Volume Training, such as hill repeats, is a way that the body can increase its ability to maximize force production and improve endurance simultaneously. Like Tempo Runs, Volume Training is extremely taxing on the body, and should not be performed the same day as Max- and Dynamic-Efforts. And when I say "Volume Training", I'm talking about 20 to 30 x Hill Repeats at a 30+% gradient. Not four or five repeats. Don't cheat yourself, Johnny Cut-Corners.
Programming Error #3 - "Poor Mobility"
The third most common error I see is athletes who have no plan for any sort of joint mobilization. Too many athletes neglect their joints and ligaments, and so, quid pro quo, their joints and ligaments revolt and decide to neglect them in return.
Look, to use weights as an analogy, if I'm moving the bar and it requires me to generate 80.5 pounds of force to move it from position 'A' to position 'B', and I have the ability to generate 805 pounds of force, then I can move the bar 10 x times. But if I add 80.5 pounds of band resistance to that bar, I can only move it 5 x times. Why? Because I've added resistance to the bar without adding any actual weight to the bar.
Well, when you move your body forward, it's no different than moving any other weight. Your body is, all things considered, a giant weight that you carry with you all of the time. When you neglect your joints, ligaments and tendons - and you have poor range of motion - it's like adding band-resistance to your legs. An athlete with poor range of motion will have to generate more force production to move his legs the same distance as an athlete with optimum range of motion. And so arguably, you could actually have a heavier athlete with ideal range of motion who can out-run and out-last a lighter athlete who has poor range of motion.
Mobilize your joints and limbs. A mobile athlete is an efficient athlete. An efficient athlete has better movement economy. And better movement economy means improved endurance. So don't neglect your joints - show them some love and spend at least ten to fifteen minutes of quality time with them every day.
Putting It All Together
And the programming doesn't end there. The intent is for your programming to be a linear progression, not a repeating cycle. Your progress is measured in time. You should see steady improvement in your over-all power, and steady improvement in your endurance capacities.
The linear progression allows the athlete the flexibility he needs to shift efforts, focusing either on power or on endurance, depending on which area requires the most improvement at the given moment in time. Cutting out the junk miles ensures that the athlete is not compromising his power gains by over-training endurance. And, finally, show your joints love - lots and lots of love. Because if you love your joints, they will love you in return. And if you follow these guidelines, rehydrate, refuel and sleep properly, and you will transcend those plateaus.
Train Hard.
