I saw something the other day where someone said they were in the training to train stage of their preparation. Stop and think about that for a minute – Why would you train to train? Training should never be an end unto itself. You may be month’s away form the competitive season, but you should never take your eye off the ball so to speak. The goal of training is preparation for competition. Training is process and it is a process that is ongoing and cumulative. It is the competitive goals that give training a purpose and direction. Through training overall work capacity should increase and consequently readiness for more quality training will also increase, but you should never lose sight of the goal. The goal is preparation for competition.
3 Comments
Kristof
Maybe the person was talking about the long-term planning approach outlined by Steven Plisk, where training follows a series of stages that build onto one another i.e., years 3-4 learning to train, years 5-6 training to train, years 7-8 training to compete and so on … In that context, I think it makes sense, because it isn’t just a means to end, it is more about laying the groundwork for more demanding training to come (i.e., increase in work capacity to increase competitive readiness, as you said). Of course, during each of these stages one still prepares to compete, but surely the ‘focus’ on competition in the long-term planning process changes as an athlete matures and progresses through these stages.
Wayne Pedranti
Kristof. I agree with you. The only time I ever heard the concept of “training to train” is in terms of the Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. In this case, we are dealing with Males 12 – 16 / Females 11 – 15 years of age. The objectives of this phase is building the aerobic base, building strength towards the end of the phase and further development of sport-specific skills (build the “engine” and consolidate sport specific skills). During the “Training to Train” stage young athletes consolidate basic sportspecific
skills and tactics. This phase is not associated with an annual periodization plan, but rather the complete life cycle of the athlete.
Colleges in Dubai
Thanks for sharing the informative blog,keep it up these innovative ideas