How Well Do You Handle Program Pressure?

Podcast

September 28, 2020

Age groupers can't train like pros, but we all want to improve. How to handle the pressure of sticking to a program. Get Fast Podcast, Ep 44.

Get Fast Podcast, Ep 44, with Gerard and Jordan Donnelly

Handle it by chasing consistency and letting go of perfection. Much of the pressure in a training program is mental, and a couple of missed sessions can feel far bigger than they are. Gerard's answer is to put frequency first, then duration, then intensity, and to keep going after a bad patch.

What is program pressure?

It's the pressure you put on yourself to follow a program perfectly. Jordan calls it "a psychological battle as much as a physical battle".

Driven athletes aim for every session. Miss one or two, and they can start berating themselves and believing they're going badly when they're not. The balance is to aim for as much consistency as you can without beating yourself up.

What should you focus on first?

Frequency. Gerard builds every program on three things in this order: frequency, duration and intensity. Frequency, or consistency, means you can keep training without gaps. Duration and intensity depend on it.

You do need to train hard to improve, just not at the start. Start with a moderate program you can repeat.

Why is going too hard early a problem?

It breaks your frequency. Gerard describes new athletes who run their 1 km repeats well under the pace he asked for. His reply: "that was a disappointment". They're now too tired for tomorrow's tempo run.

His illustration is two athletes over 100 days. One smashes out great sessions, then needs days off, and completes 60 sessions. The other stays consistent and completes 95. The second is better prepared on race day.

What if you miss a few sessions?

Keep them in perspective. "One bad session doesn't make a season," Gerard says. Five missed sessions out of 50 is quite minimal. Missing 25 out of 50 is half your program.

Abandoning a program over one bad day or three bad sessions is what he wants to stop. "I hate the 100 or zero athlete," he says.

He still wants highly motivated athletes. He just wants that drive going into consistent training, because "the way you train is the way you're going to race".

What if life is getting in the way this week?

Adjust the program and do what you can. If outside pressures are too great, forget about the full duration of the session and get something done. "Something is better than nothing" is Gerard's rule, because it keeps your frequency going.

How do you come back after an inconsistent period?

Come back at a moderate level. Gerard used to tell himself "I now need to train harder to catch up". He now sees that as the same all-or-nothing trap.

You wouldn't return from a hamstring injury with a set of 400 m intervals. You'd start with an easy jog and walk, then progress. The same goes after travel or any period when you couldn't train.

What happens if you keep rushing back?

Gerard is the example. For years he carried a calf injury, let it heal, then went straight back into his program without building up. He got injured again each time. "My competitiveness was my downfall," he says.

It eventually got so bad that he can't run any more, and running is the sport he enjoyed most.

Should you stop training after a big race?

Have your recovery, but keep training at a lower intensity and duration. Gerard's illustration: an athlete at a fitness level of 100 for their goal event takes weeks or months off, returns at 50 or 60, then spends four months getting back to 100.

He prefers a different graph: build, hold, dip a little for recovery, then build to the next level.

Local football shows the opposite. Clubs train hard until the end of the season, then nobody runs until preseason. Jordan calls it "the epitome of all or nothing".

How does consistency pay off over time?

It compounds. Jordan says getting frequency right for a year makes you a really solid athlete, and two or three years pays off in dividends. Gerard says some athletes he coaches are turning their careers around, at all ages, by mastering it.