This past weekend I just did my own trial with training volume by tackling the Ironman. While I was successful, and there were positive things that came of my training and the race itself, I asked myself the same question many times. Why are we addicted to Volume?
Our society is always looking for more. Most high school swimmers brag about how far they swim or how many practices they do per week. Our very successful cross country program talks with great pride how many miles they run per week, some up to 100+. Many coaches keep track of how far they swim per week and per season, and feel a sense of accomplishment when it was a big week or year. We are thrilled when our plate is piled with food. Doctors and Lawyers are taught to value 80 hour weeks. Even Starbucks isn't satisfied until they have a store on every corner. Volume! Volume! Volume!
After training for the ironman, I get it. There is a certain part of you that always wants more. I am done doing Ironman triathlons, but I get why you can get hooked. In fact, I think I walk a fine line with that addiction myself, as a small part of my brain is telling me to do another Ironman. I also think it is not just Ironman triathletes that are addicted to volume. More is better is usually a common them in the way we were taught to succeed and the way we teach our students and teams to succeed.
Here are some suggestions that I use to not get caught up in the volume addiction:
1. Learn to value how your body moves and how well it can move at a high level (very few operate at a high level when training for ironmans or marathons). We can all get better at moving the way God made us and learning to feel what it is like to move fast and be strong. In fact, it is being found that maintaining power as you get older is more important than aerobic excercise. God made us in his own image, and the next time you are working really hard and the legs are burning, learn to appreciate that feeling, that is your body working at maximum capacity which is a beautiful thing and we should learn to appreciate that.
2. Be consistent. Verne Gambetta always says training is cumulative. A lot of consistent normal workouts add up to a lot. I believe this is one of the main reasons why I was able to train less than average for my ironman this past summer and still be successful. It was the consistency over the last 20 years, not my training over the last 2 months. Ask your athletes to be consistent all year long. Don't stop and start things, whether it be exercise, work, devotions, be steady and consistent.
3. Don't turn your back on the other parts of your life, they play just as important of a role to your success. My student athletes usually don't see this concept. They don't understand that they get faster by getting better grades. They don't value sleep, even though this is when the body makes the biggest strides to become smarter, faster, and stronger. They don't value the relationships around them enough and don't think others have an impact on their success. Value your spiritual life, most people have a belief in God, yet don't value it enough to make it a bigger piece of the puzzle. I have heard this from many coaches, "Compete as the whole person." What you do in the pool, on your bike, or with your running shoes is only a small percentage of the training.
As one that gets caught bragging about how far his team swam or even personally, how far I went on my bike on a given day, learn to value quality over volume, it will make a difference.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
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