03 - THE METHOD

TRAIN TODAY
FOR WHAT YOU WANT TOMORROW.

We coach from shared training axioms, not rigid formulas. The principles inform the decision but coaching is knowing how and when to apply them for each athlete.

WE HAVE RULES.
NO. WE HAVE AXIOMS.

We developed them from always being curious, always experimenting and always being observant. Our ideas about training were developed through physiology, education, experience, observation and a lot of years spent coaching and racing.

They give us a place to start. They don't give us permission to stop thinking.

That's an important distinction.

Take something as simple as a long ride.

One of our bike axioms is that an athlete preparing for a long-course event should eventually be able to produce roughly the kilojoule expenditure they're likely to experience throughout the entire race day on their long bike ride.

There's physiology and experience behind that idea.

But it doesn't mean every athlete gets the same five to ten hour Saturday ride (yes, you read that right).

One athlete may need five exposures near that race demand. Another might need three.

An elite athlete could benefit from considerably more.

Another athlete might not have the durability, recovery capacity or available time to absorb that training yet.

The principle informs the decision.
It doesn't make the decision for us.

The same thing happens across swimming and running.

Frequency matters. Durability matters. Specificity matters. Intensity distribution matters. Progression matters. Recovery matters.

But none of those words tells us exactly what Sarah should do Wednesday morning…

THAT’S WHERE COACHING COMES IN.
NUANCE. JUDGEMENT. EXPERIENCE.

We want our coaches to understand the science. We want shared fundamentals across AP Racing. And we want enough consistency that there is an identifiable way we think about training.

But we don't want robots.

Andy should have fingerprints on the way Andy coaches. Daniel should have fingerprints on the way Daniel coaches. Every AP coach should develop judgment.

Because athletes aren't equations. They are puzzles that are forever changing, evolving and with a target that is always moving. Context turns knowledge into practical application for athletes in the real world.

Principles give us the framework
Coaching is knowing how and when to apply them.
And occasionally knowing when to break them.