Old Training Myths

Athletes for years always worked harder to get the edge over their opponent. They should and they will continue to do so. Battles have been won by those who have more soldiers, more pitchers, more speed, more resources, more, more... In addition, this mentality has
been applied directly to weighty training and speed training.  The more sets, the more days, the more sprints, the longer distances, and so on.  However, this concept has produced more harm than it has helped.  Many go overboard and burn out; others cheat to win, while many refuse to subject themselves to perceived torture.

The concept of working smart and efficiently has been overshadowed by the mindset of more work equals better performance. The concept of work till you drop, leave the gym dragging, run longer to be faster, feel the total burn is doing only one thing…tearing the body down.  It requires long hours of recovery, it requires additional nutrients to aid the repair process, and it takes away precious time to develop skill sets that do require hours of repetition for mastery. Working smart has been a phrase used by many champions.  This concept is now being applied to the weight room and the track.  Developing power and speed efficiently and effectively is taking the place of the old school work ethic.  The special ops forces around the world have figured this out, the martial arts communities have been using this concept for years, and today’s elite athletes are utilizing versions of this concept in their routines.

Here is a myth for you to ponder.  The Russians where perceived to be drug takers and iron heads that lived in the weight room.  They were so strong and they whipped all countries.  Nevertheless, the contrary was to be found true.  The Russians would visit the training center in the mornings to lift a couple of loads then leave.  They would return later in the day to pull a few more loads and then they were finished for the day.  ((They understood the concept of recruiting muscle and time under tension.))

Great baseball hitters of the years gone by would take a few cuts to left, center, and right then retire to the bench. They were ready to get after it.  Why, because they knew their zone, they knew their swing, and they knew how to activate the muscles to react to the stimuli of fastballs and curves.

This concept of building power and strength via efficient stimulation and muscular recruitment goes totally against all economic, athletic, and social norms of current cultures.  The scientific community has known of the positive effects of this process. With the world facing many global changes it just goes without saying that, a smarter way to develop power and speed can only produce positive change within the athletic communities.