Coach Carter

Each year, I use my Christmas break to devour things: books, films, miles on the road - and yes the odd chocolate treat! This year was no different - I walked lots, rode lots (for me recently anyway!), ate lots and read lots: 4 books this year. It suits my nature - very "all or nothing", so when I do something, I don't do it by halves!

It was quite appropriate therefore that one of the books I read finished was "Talent is Over-rated" By Geoff Colvin. A regular writer with Fortune magazine, he is well positioned to comment on what it takes to become the very best in a chosen field: music, business or indeed sport. Colvin believes, and backs up with numerous case studies, that "there is in fact a path leading from the state of our own abilities to that of the greats". Before everyone rushes off to demand their place on the 2012 Olympic team, he explans further that "the path is extremely long and demanding, and only a few will make it to its end". We all know this latter statement is true, only a chosen few make it to the number 1 spot in their sport - so if 'natural talent' is NOT the factor, what is? According to Colvin, 'deliberate practice' (DP).

The phrase 'practice makes perfect' is nothing new to us: and whilst at some level we know that to be true, we can always come up with 'freaks' in any field who seem to have shunned the need to work hard and rely on natural talent. Likewise, we know extremely diligent 'practisers' who appear to be destined for nothing more than mediocrity! However, the key to understand in this theory of DP is the precise nature in which champions train in their field. It is not just a case of more practice = better performance: whilst time in a sport / business / music IS important, it is the time practicing 'deliberately', with precision that is the crucial element.

I can't do Colvin's book justice by trying to explain (or convince you!) how much this concept makes sense. But I will summarise the key aspects that define DP:

• The practice / training session is designed specifically to improve performance
• The practice can be repeated a lot
• Feedback on results is continuously available
• It is highly demanding mentally
• It isn't much fun!

I love the example Colvin gives when he takes us through a pre-golf game scenario of him visiting the driving range to 'practice'. He buys a bucket of balls, drops one down on the mat, picks a flag out on the range  that roughly equates to the distance he knows he can match with the club he has in his hand, takes aim, bam: drops next ball on mat repeat - a bucket of balls later, practice done and he walks off to the first tee feeling very good and self righteous about having 'practiced' well. Contrast  that with how the pros might prepare: they decide the aspect of the game they want to focus on e.g. the drive. They look to the flag furthest away, select their driver, place a ball down on a tee. They stand behind the ball, visualise the shape of the shot (draw or fade), they line up, practice swing and then they line up for real. They strike the ball, and they watch the ball land - they then assess the performance , and address the issues neede based on the visual (and other senses) feedback. I imagine it would take a pro maybe 3 times longer to hit the same amount of balls?

It is probably easier to see DP in a sport like golf - where there is a high skill component - than in sports like cycling. Whilst there are some technical aspects to consider, performance is hugely determined by physiological factors. However, lessons CAN be learnt. For a start, there is a very important contribution made psychologically in endurance cycling performance - and this is probably THE biggest omission in how amateurs prepare for their racing.

I'll take an example close to people's hearts right now - turbo training! There has been a BIG need for it these past few weeks. Indeed, some of my athletes have spent 80% of their training time on the stationary trainer. Mind numbing amounts of time. I don't blame people for using all kinds of strategies to get them through - music, film watching, reading books - and indeed, for endurance base building this is probably fine. But, is THIS DP? Look at number 1 on the list of the factors comprising DP. How specific is listening to music during sessions when actually, this is against the rules in cycle racing? OK, this is an extreme standpoint - and when it comes down to it, I would rather my athletes use music if it helps them get the training done: bottom line, without any sort of training, you're not going to get fitter! But, when we consider research that details how the best performers 'associate' rather than 'disassociate' from bodily sensations, is it best to distract and entertain ourselves?

Maybe bodily signals are important to get used to? We have a fundamental choice - 'go through the motions' in a training session OR practice with deliberacy. Know what your training session is designed to achieve; make it specific; prepare mentally, physically.

Having done my fair share of turbo training over Christmas and New Year (as prep for camp, 1 month to go!) and it being alongside the reading of these concepts, I thought a lot about how I 'train' now and how I used to train when I was competing. Now, I use all sorts of methods to make time go quickly - what a saviour BBC iPlayer is! When I was training seriously though, I rarely watched TV or films (if I did it tended to be cycle racing). I did use music, but normally stuff without lyrics - interestlingly, I found the words distracting! I very rarely had anything to entertain me in high intensity training sessions, as I wanted all my focus on the job in hand. I liken it to how people tend to turn down the car stereo when looking for a place when driving - we seem to only have a limited capacity across our senses. Maybe the athlete should be applying this principle to their training sessions? Turn down the tunes, and tune in to bodily sensations instead.

One aspect of DP that is worth mentioning - if anyone can become a champion, how long will it take? The research suggests 10 years, or approximately 10,000 hours of DP. It got me thinking about how many hours have I spent preparing my cycling career. I came to the sport pretty late, and 'only' had 7 years taking me up to my pinnacle year in 2008 (when I also decided to retire gracefully!). I was fortunate enough to have SRM power measuring cranks from Day 1, so I have all my training time documented - this graph shows the outcome of the calculations of time spent from 2002 to 2008 inclusive.

*Note: in 2008 the data is for half a year, as I stopped in June after the National 25 mile Champs

No-where NEAR the 10,000h needed, no wonder I didn't win a National Champs! Seriously though, it does make you think. OK, this is just time on the bike (take in to account I was also doing gym work, general conditioning, core stability etc). But, I can't honestly say all the time on the bike was characteristically 'DP'. I wonder how much of this time my mind was on the task 100% - I imagine a lot of it WAS fun (so not DP!!)

I'm writing this post having completed a 3 hour ride - it was useful reminder of what it takes to "be the best YOU can be". It was a slog for the final hour or so, riding back in to a 20mph southerly wind. Poor Juliette had to ride on to Brighton once she left me in Eastbourne, another 1h30. As we parted, I really felt for her - it was a tough day in the office. Whilst I don't believe carte blanche 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger', watching Juliette's determination and commitment in her training today left me with a good reminder of what it takes. I certainly don't have that anymore!

So, I dedicate this blogpost to all my athletes - your determination to get the job done these past 4 weeks has impressed me. Well done on every pedal stroke - you thoroughly deserve success in 2011, and I am looking forward to being road side to witness it!