Top 10 Mistakes of Athletes (#8-#10)

A couple of weeks ago I posted on my Twitter account (@jfriel) what I consider to be the 10 biggest mistakes self-coached athletes make in their training. @BeerMatt_96 suggested I collate them into a post. That was a good idea. And several others asked for explanations. So here are the first three. I’ll follow up in a day or so with the other seven.

 #10 mistake: Too much emphasis on miles/kilometers.

Correction: The key to race success is appropriate intensity.

Comments: Study after study shows that the key to high performance for experienced athletes is intensity – not volume. It’s not how many miles you did; it’s what you did with the miles. Measuring only how many miles or hours you train does little to gauge progress toward race success. Anyone can go slow for a long time. This is not to say that that volume is unimportant. One hour of intense training and nothing else for an entire week won’t get it done. You need to find a balance. That’s the beauty of bike power meters and run pacing devices (gps, accelerometers): They allow you to express what you’ve done in training in weekly TSS or kilojoules which are combinations of volume and intensity.

 #9 mistake: Too much emphasis on heart rate.

Correction: Your engine is muscle.

Comments: Your heart reacts to what your muscles are doing. Watching heart rate is an indirect measure of what your body is accomplishing. It’s a bit like using the gas gauge on your car to determine how fast you are driving. If the muscles need more oxygen then the heart responds by beating faster to provide it. The heart is subservient to muscle. The heart never turns the pedals, drives the legs up a hill or pulls your body through rough open water. Only the muscles do that. The experienced athlete will make greater advances by focusing workouts on the muscles rather than the heart.

 #8 mistake: Set goals much too high to motivate greatness.

Correction: An overly high goal does the opposite. Goals must be just out of reach.

Comments: Setting unbelievably goals works only in Hollywood. Winning a World Championship when you can barely finish a race isn’t a goal – it’s a dream. It becomes a goal when you devise a plan to accomplish it. If you can lay out a detailed and realistic plan that leads to such a goal then it becomes believable and achievable. But if all you do is set unbelievable goals then you are dreaming. And everyone knows it including you.

Comments

[Paige]

Joe,

Quick question:

As a student, I can't really afford a power meter, so my only metric is a Garmin Forerunner with HRM and a GSC 10 computer. I just finished with Prep and am going into Base 1, and I did two 30 minute TT tests in Prep: one at the beginning and one at the end. I've found that my LTHR estimate has fallen significantly, and I was going a little faster than last time, which would seem to indicate that my aerobic fitness has improved a lot. But by my RPE, I feel like my Zone 2 estimate based upon the original test is still right. Which should I use? The new one, or the old one?

[Joe Friel]

Paige--I don't think I can help you here. There are lots of variables. I'd be inclined to work off of RPE, tho. Good luck.

[Riccardo]

Hi joe
This article is really interessant but please can you explaine how we can focalise on muscle works?
I think that the only way is to use a power metter...
Or not?

[rob]

Hi Joe,
Power meters can be pricey and not every triathlete can afford to buy one. I know on a day-to-day basis HR and RPE will vary, along with the weather conditions when we are out on the bike. Then wouldnt HR be the next best way to go as far as training intensity along with RPE?
Rob

[Joe Friel]

Rob--It's always better to measure output (power, pace). But when that's not available input (HR, RPE) is second.

[Joe Friel]

Riccardo--Yes, a power meter allows you to focus on what the muscles are accomplishing. But primarily muscle-based training includes force reps, sprints, and muscular endurance.

[Mick Mathews]

Joe, I found your mistake #9 very interesting. I have a power meter and while it is nice to see my output, it sometimes puts me off of my training objective for a specific ride. Basically, on a given day, the muscles can only do what the muscles can do. Sometimes I think it would be better to turn the computer upside down so I can't see it and then do the training ride the way I feel it should be done. Of course, I've been doing this for over 30 years. A beginner would find it hard to "feel" the right intensity.

[Jay]

Joe, regarding item #10. What phase does weekly TSS typically peak in? Or should weekly avg TSS be constant through Base, Build, Peak, and Race phases? Thanks.

[Joe Friel]

Jay--For my athletes weekly TSS tends to increase through the base period and then stabilizes in Build.