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forget this process and become content with our old ways. If
we do, we ll all get left in the dust, as our competition will blow
right past us. Are you stuck in your old ways?
Audible Ready
There is a concept described in The Little Book of Coaching by
Don Shula and Ken Blanchard: knowing when to change. To
quote the authors:
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Many people are struggling right now because they haven t learned
the power of flexibility. They are still living in the past. They are
scared to move forward. You know why? Because they do not have
the confidence to do so. They are afraid of failure. They are fearful of
looking stupid. They doubt themselves. They are stuck in a rut.
Prepare well with a plan then expect the unexpected and be
ready to change that plan.
Training Plans
Many times I ve been asked, Can you write a training program
for me? Nothing irritates me more than this question. They
(coaches, athletes, and trainers) assume that this is a very easy pro-
cess that will take a few minutes to put together. In reality it would
take hours to compile all the necessary information and many
more to put it together. When it s finally complete, the chance of
it working for the athlete is less than 20%. You may be saying to
yourself, Wow, you must really suck at writing programs. You
know what? You are 100% correct. A program alone will not yield
results. It s the modifications that are made along the way that lead
to the success of the program. Let me explain . . .
Coach and Billy
Let s say Billy contacts a coach to write a strength-training pro-
gram for football. After spending time analyzing Billy, the coach
discovers that Billy needs to develop the following skills:
1. Explosiveness
2. Mobility
3. Flexibility
4. General conditioning
5. Triceps strength
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Dave Tate
6. Correct shoulder balance
7. Exercise technique
8. General football skills
9. VO2 max
Crystal Ball
Next, the coach needs to rank the list in order of importance and
come up with a general plan to attack the highest-priority items
first. Here comes the first problem. Many of the listed items are
dependent upon each other, so listing importance can be a bit
of a challenge. Then the coach has to select the best training
protocol to use for Billy. This brings in problem No. 2. There are
hundreds of protocols to choose from that could help Billy with
his goals. So the coach has to select the best exercises for Billy
that will address his goals. Now we are at problem No. 3: There
are thousands of movements that could help Billy with his weak-
nesses. Sorry I forgot one major component. The coach has
to have the ability to predict the future. Since he is only writing
the program and will not be part of the day-to-day implementa-
tion of the plan, the coach needs to have a top-notch, high-tech
crystal ball so he can predict how each stimulus will effect Billy.
Now there are many coaches and trainers out there who will
proclaim they have this ability and that their programs will work
for anyone. I am here to tell you they are dead wrong! It is just not
possible for one to see into the future.
Absolute Best You Can Be
Training is a process that has to be taken day to day. Yes, you
need to have a basic plan to work from, but there are so many
variables that can change at different rates that you must be
willing to adapt your plan accordingly. Let s go back to the ex-
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Under the Bar
ample with Billy. One of his weak points is mobility. This is an
ability that could be corrected with one exercise or it may take
15 movements. This could be corrected in as little as one week
or may take months. All goals have the same factors associated
with them. The only way for a strength program to be truly ef-
fective is to track the key indicators on a daily or weekly basis.
They must always be under observation to make sure they re
being adjusted while the rest of the program moves forward.
A general program may work and produce general results, but
we re all after more than just general results we re after being
the absolute best we can be. Other training variables that also
need to be taken into account are associated with the individual
training session. Let s say Billy was to begin his program with
squats and then move on to hamstring work, abdominal work,
and conditioning work. What if the squat took more out of
him than expected, and this was all his body could handle for
the day? If he still pushed it hard on all the other work, he could
send his body into an overtraining state. What if he were to do
315 pounds for five sets of five reps in the squat, but after the
first set he knew he would not be able to make five reps on the
next set? All these factors need to be addressed as the training
session progresses in order to achieve the best results.
Your Plan
So, as you can see, a prescribed training plan is a good idea, but
is only that an idea. The rest has to be pieced together as the
session and workouts progress. This is the same with any goal
you go after. Your plan will not always work. They seldom ever
do. You will have to make many changes to your plan along
the way. You should do your best to expect the unexpected and
remain flexible, which means always having a back-up. So how
flexible are you?
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Chapter Eleven
Execution
The test of any man lies in action.
Pindar
Let him who would move the world,
first move himself.
Socrates
Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck,
leads the flock to fly and follow.
Chinese proverb
You can t build a reputation on what
you are going to do.
Henry Ford
A journey of one thousand miles
begins with a single step.
Confucius
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He who begins many things
finishes but a few.
Italian proverb
If a man does only what is required of him,
he is a slave. If a man does more
than is required of him,
he is a free man.
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