Relentless Execution
Illustration by Jocelyn Tsaih for phantastic
Have you ever felt sluggish or simply not in the mood to do the workout you had planned? Have you ever postponed a workout until it was so late in the day that in the end you decided to “save” it for another day — or started the session so late that you were forced to cut it short because the pool or gym closed? Have you done a workout without really thinking about what you’re trying to accomplish — how it fits into the bigger plan?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time that you consciously and deliberately shift your mindset. Today is the day you can become the “new you.”
Sure, professional athletes have more dedicated time to train. It’s their version of a 9-to-5 job, day in and day out. And yes, most of the top pros are genetically predisposed to speed. They are taller, leaner, and likely started training at a younger age than you did. But there is something else that sets them apart. And it’s all in their minds. Their secret is a crystal-clear focus.
In a pro’s day, each session is planned in advance, executed consistently and with a purpose in mind. It’s not just the quantity, but the quality of training that matters. It’s easy to get distracted, but if you focus on the task at hand, you will see improvement. This is the concept of Deliberate Practice.
It’s easy to say but harder to do. So where do you start? First, you need to understand your internal drivers and motivators. Without motivation that is truly compelling and in line with your vision for yourself, it’s hard to focus on something (exercise) that runs counter to your body’s natural tendency to relax. Call it the Inertia Impulse. But pros buck that impulse by chasing podiums or paychecks. Successful age groupers do so by wanting to qualify for Kona — or by merely wanting to get fitter to pursue some other athletic goal. The key is that each of them has a specific goal in mind that requires and justifies their everyday sacrifices.
So, it all starts with a passion. But how do you empower your passion and turn it into tangible results? The answer to this question applies to anything in life, such as achieving the highest level of success in your profession. The answer lies in the mind, and how your mind dictates and influences your training (or your job performance). This is Execution Mode. Let’s break Execution Mode into three components:
Know what you are doing (planning).
Do it repeatedly (consistency).
Do it with laser-sharp focus (specificity).
In other words, know what to do, do it, and do it well.
It all starts with a goal. The goal must be realistic — grounded in your current fitness level and the degree of effort you are willing and able to make to get to where you want to go.
This means designing a training program that fits your lifestyle and allows you to be consistent. It means operating within the limits of your daily life. It means being organized and planning ahead.
Breaking your goal into steps can add clarity to how you will get from where you are to where you want to be. The plan should apply the training principles of overload, progression and adaptation.
Once you set this plan in motion, you must regularly review your progress and your goals so you can make adjustments as needed. Early-season planning, weekly planning and monthly planning should all be examined and re-examined.
Sit down every Sunday to look over your plan for the week ahead, and make sure you know what you are doing each day. How does the week fit into your seasonal and annual cycles? What is the objective of the week and the sessions you’ve planned? Which are the key sessions that you must absolutely do?
So now you have the plan. That’s theory. Now let’s put it into practice. To see progress, you must do things you want to continually improve on. And you have to commit to training that’s in line with your plan. Sure, there are things that will get in the way (life), but consistency requires resilience, organization and self-discipline.
Surprises will undoubtedly come up that will make it hard to stick to the plan. But you cannot afford to alter your training plan too much because muscle memory is built through repetition. Without repetition you will face reversibility; our bodies de-adapt when we stop training. That’s why it is essential to continue to train, even if it’s in “maintenance mode.”
Follow a plan that features certain workouts on the same day of the week, which will make it easier to be consistent.
Doing something is always better than doing nothing.
Get creative in fitting training sessions into your schedule (when there’s a will, there’s a way).
At minimum, complete your key workouts each week.
According to the Rule of Specificity, you must perform a particular skill to get better at it. Therefore, each session should have a specific objective, such as working on your running stride, your cycling cadence, or your high-elbow stroke in swimming. Or it could be performing high-intensity intervals or a “depletion” bike/run “brick” workout that bolsters your endurance.
Developing a sense of what an upcoming race effort should feel like is the objective.
You should know the purpose of each session and cut out “junk miles.” Before every meeting at work, you know the agenda and can check at the end whether the agenda items were completed. It’s the same with training sessions, and in both cases, the ability to focus is critical.
Schedule your workouts for times of day when you are at your best. Fuel and hydrate properly before, so you are ready. And ignore the noise and distractions while focusing on the task at hand. Apply tunnel vision.
Most athletes have a training plan. Many athletes are good at making the time to fit in their planned workouts. But few athletes are able to focus on their workouts like nothing else.
Ask yourself before each session: What is my objective today?
Check in with yourself throughout the session by asking yourself: How am I progressing toward the objective I set for this session?
Do the workout with full focus.
Surround yourself with the best people you can learn from, whether it’s training buddies or an online coach who lives on another continent.
Always train with a purpose — each day, each week, each month and each year.
About the author
phantastic is a superhuman performance lab, on a mission to help athletes reimagine the possible and realize their potential. We are a team of athletes, coaches, and scientists. But more importantly hackers, tinkerers and experimenters, obsessed with chasing faster.
About the illustrator
Jocelyn Tsaih was born in Taipei, raised in Shanghai and now lives in San Francisco. Her illustrations have been featured in The New York Times and other places - she also makes amazing murals!
© 2020 phantastic
