Athletes spend so much time and energy looking into anything that may or may not give them an advantage. Everyone is looking for the ONE THING that will give them an edge over their opponents.
Go ahead and try the latest crazes if you’d like, but as you bring your elevation mask, minimalist shoes, gallon jug of water, heart rate monitor and pre + post workout shakes to the gym, please don’t forget to bring the most important ingredient for success, CONSISTENCY!
Training Volume (Quantity)
Consider how many days a week you’re training and how rarely you miss a session.
If only given these two options, what do you think would be more beneficial for a high school athlete?
A. He works with the best personal trainer in the country for one hour once a week.
B. He walks into his high school gym and messes around with weights for an hour and a half everyday after school.
In my opinion, and in most cases, a healthy athlete with a low training age is likely going to have better results by hitting the gym more. The most consistent athletes generally get results.
Unfortunately, strength training once a week is like going outside and practicing layups, midrange jumpers, three pointers and free throws for 10 minutes only on Saturdays. You’re trying to do too much in not enough time.
If you want to see results, you need to spend some significant time moving some weights around.
Training Quality
Consider the overall quality of your training.
Do you miss reps? Do you always respect the weight and approach the bar with a clear head? Are you focused on things other than training? What is your purpose for training? How do you carry yourself during workouts?
Poor quality equals inconsistency in training.
I saw one of the greatest strength athletes in the history of weight sports, Andy Bolton squatting one of our 45lb bars (yep, nothing on it) with the same amount of focus and intensity as he used when he nailed his 1,008lbs deadlift record. This man has incredible consistency with his training. He simply attacks every single rep of every single set exactly the same way.
Sure, this may sound boring, but it’s purposeful and extremely effective. I learned from Andy that training has a lot more to do with how you are moving the weight, rather than what weight your are moving.
If you are going to lift, lift! Don’t approach your deadlift bar, thinking about your anatomy test or talking to the person on the pull-up bar.
Focus on what you need to do, respect the exercise and the weight you’re using and pull like hell. The saying, get your mind right is something I often think of when training and coaching.
If you want to reach your full athletic potential, you need to take an honest look at your training and ask yourself, are you really consistent?
Next week I’ll be back with some tips on how to stay consistent, both from a quantity and quality standpoint. As you can see, it’s not about just showing up, punching the clock and giving yourself a pat on the back.
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For more tips and information on our sports performance training program at Skill of Strength, check out SOSCompete on Twitter and Instagram!