3 Essential Lessons on Writing Training Plans
Every time I teach a new cohort of aspiring sport scientists, strength coaches, or physiotherapists, whether through my company White Lion’s mentorship program or one of my teaching positions, I am always incredibly inspired by their passion for their new jobs and the curiosity that many unjaded up-and-coming practitioners bring to the classroom and the weightroom.
It drives me to reflection, however, when I hear their questions about how to coach.
And they are right to ask; the vast majority of what is learned in sport science classroom education is not practically applicable to the daily work of a strength coach or otherwise. It is not realistic, because the scenarios we work in are never textbook perfect.
This weekend, while teaching a course on Cheerleading Strength & Conditioning in Frankfurt, Germany, I emphasized the following three points for how to practically implement your training program and plan it realistically in advance. These are some of the lessons I wish I had received in the classroom.
1. There’s always less time than you think. Plan accordingly.
That’s it. That’s the point.
A training session is almost always going to take longer than expected, so, if you are given a time limit to work within, always evaluate what must be accomplished and what would be nice to accomplish. Prioritize the former and let the latter be nice to have, if there is time and it will have a positive effect.
A note on positive effects: remember that more is sometimes just more, not better. Always make sure that, before you make your athletes do that “nice to have” stuff, it is actually worth it and their time would not be better spent sleeping, relaxing, or training at their sport.
2. Have movement progressions and regressions on hand.
It is rare for significant time to pass between sessions in which at least one athlete is injured, sore, or has another valid reason to need adjustment to their program.
And adjusting volume, intensity, tempo, and duration only work so often, only possible so many times; sometimes the best possible or most realistic adjustment is to regress or progress the prescribed exercise itself.
To every exercise, there is a progression (a way to make it more challenging or advanced) and a regression (a less complex option).
To the front squat, there is a goblet squat (regression) and a heavier front squat or a split squat (progression). To the shoulder press, there is an incline shoulder press (regression) and the DB eccentric shoulder press (progression). To the dead bug, there is a dead bug hold (regression) and a dead bug with a banded pull (progression).
Not only are they sometimes necessary for the athletes, but they are also useful when time is short, resources or equipment are little-to-none, motivation is beneath the earth’s crust, you have to coach a huge group and cannot afford highly technical drills that require coaching, or complexity is simply too complicated today.
Always keep progressions and regressions in your back pocket. Flexibility and adaptability are a strength coach’s best friend.
3. Plan the rest like you plan the work.
If you’ve ever coached a motivated athlete, especially in youth sport, you know that athletes are not very keen on long rest periods, even if they understand why regeneration between sets and sessions are important. Make sure you write it down and treat pauses as seriously as you treat the individual reps themselves.
Figure out how to fill that time, so it feels less boring and “time-waste-y”. Talk to your athletes. If you have not yet explained why rest periods in sessions are important, do that. Express positively that the rest helps them get the best out of every repetition and session, and that is the best way to improve their performance (you don’t have to dumb it down, but keep it simple!). Go over the sprint video analysis with them, or discuss the set RPE and what they feel in their bodies.
Having a discussion will get the rest time in while making it less painful and give both you and your athlete the chance to mentally buy into the session.
This article originally featured on the White Lion Performance Blog on 19 April, 2021.
