Go slow to go fast
Hello, 100 Year Athletes!
Last week, we talked about how to identify a sustainable program, including a number of high-level requirements - thank you, Brad Stulberg. This week, we’re going deeper by highlighting the program characteristic that is critical to getting results for you: a ‘go slow, to go fast’ approach. Please see below for why this is so important.
MTB Perspective #2: Go Slow to Go Fast - The Path to Performance
Take the time to explicitly define your goals. For example, do you want to optimize your capabilities for a 90-minute or 9-hour ride?
The principle of progressive overload works similarly in the endurance and strength worlds - there are no short-cuts to great performance, and our path to success starts with easing into our training
The boring stuff like building your base likely requires 80% of your training time.
Drills to build skills often seem like a waste of time. They should account for roughly 10-20% of your time, especially early in the season
I don’t know about you, but in my younger days I started my MTB training season by pretty much resuming what I was doing at the end of the previous season, with a “more intense the better” approach. As I got into my late 40s, this approach resulted in poor performance and a number of injuries. I’m now in my late 50s and after 1000s of hours of study and experimentation, I have a sustainable and successful approach to MTB training. And I love the continuing process of exploring how to get better.
Let me know if you ever want to geek out on MTB training. And please check out the 8-week MTB program (endurance and strength tracks) we rolled out this week.
Thank you!
Brian Allison
NSCA CSCS
brian@100yearathlete.com
650.996.8803