I frequently use the word “consistency” in relation to off-season training, but it can be applied to any training cycle in the year. I encourage everyone not to overlook consistency as an important variable in your training program. The variables we usually think of are:
· duration/length of each run
· total weekly mileage
· pace
· number of sets and/or reps
· duration of the rest intervals
· the number of workouts in the week
However, if you’ve been doing all of the above for several weeks in a row (putting recovery weeks on hold for a second), then isn’t the number of consistent weeks also its own variable? Yes, it is! So as a coach, that realization is the main reason I schedule proactive recovery weeks as preventive medicine.
The other more important point I wanted to make here is that you don’t always need to extend the weekend long runs each week, nor add more total miles or days per week as you progress from week to week. The simple fact you’ve done these workouts x-amount of weeks in a row is enough stress on the body already. This is why a chunk(s) of your program could often look very similar over a few weeks at a time. And this is where a coach and an athlete might have different perspectives on training, right? Sometimes I’m “controlling the variables” in a program and allowing the fact that it’s being done week after week (after week) to become the driving variable in the mix. Inevitably, there are going to be natural variations from week-to-week, but I hope the main point is apparent.
This approach is especially important for those of you who are either getting into running/training for the first time ever, or the first time in a long time due to injury, or a planned break/hiatus. This approach does not mean your training is stagnant! No way! That fallacy keeps the PT/chiro offices in business! If you’ve been training consistently for 6-8 weeks in a row, then you better believe you’re putting in work. This level of commitment and consistency is new for some of you, either mentally or in terms of being injury-free.
Let your consistency be a variable in itself, which is a reminder to remain patient if/when your program doesn’t resemble cannon fire. Some of the programs I create for athletes will accelerate faster than others, yet that is based on myriad factors. The above points also reinforces the notion, "Train smarter, not harder," and now you have another tactic in which to put that into action.
Train Smarter, Not Harder!
Mike