Timing not Time

Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the objective of planning. Regardless of the terminology used effective planning is simply organizing training in a cyclic manner to take advantage of the bodies adaptive response to an imposed training stimulus. It in not just the length of training cycles - the time - it is the timing of the application of training that is crucial to achieving the desired training effect. Timing is fundamental to the whole process of adaptation. Understanding that it is when you do what you doing that is a huge determining factor in the adaptive response. The training effect and adaptive response is also highly dependent on the interaction of the various qualities trained. For example if the emphasis is on speed development then the strength, flexibility and power training must support that objective. Therefore they must be carefully blended to insure an optimum adaptive response at the desired time. It is not just a mix of means and methods of training organized in an arbitrary length of time. It is carefully fitting the pieces together over time by introducing elements or taking out elements to insure the main objective of the training cycle is achieved. There is certainly science there, but the timing aspect demands an artistic feel and touch for the athlete’s response. Be careful not to be fooled by numbers. Carefully watch the athlete’s response and listen to the feedback to insure that the timing is on. Just as in life training is all about timing.