Change It Up and Try Something New

MUSINGS FROM A COACH - 5 FEBRUARY '25

When do we learn and grow the most?

For endurance sports participants and competitors, we understand the value of frequency, consistency, and self-awareness. We recognize that commitment to repetition and focus leads us closer to mastery.

However, what happens when we achieve a certain level of proficiency? For those who have dedicated their lives to this lifestyle or are at the elite level, we quickly realize that the room for performance gains diminishes. At this point, most likely, they have mastered their process and have a deep understanding of the sport.

This is a positive development if the athlete continues to learn. How can we achieve this? By introducing changes, season after season, even if they are slight.

We never remain stagnant. As each season passes, we may improve our fitness, developmental and mental wisdom, and add another year to our lives. Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume that our training and racing processes may also evolve.

The challenge lies in determining what to change and how much. On the one hand, we want to continue refining our movements through repetition. For instance, if we’re racing a bike, we want to continue riding our bike. On the other hand, repeating the same routine without acknowledging the changes we’ve made may result in minimal growth and inefficient training.

So, let's review our previous season, identify what worked in training and what we enjoyed doing, and incorporate those elements into our current approach. What if we then intentionally add change to our process to promote growth - both physical and mental? This change can take shape in several ways:

- Signing up for a new distance in your sport

- Trying a new sport that also supports your chosen sport

- Incorporating new variations of training that you've not tried before

- Getting additional instruction from experts in the sport (i.e. working with a coach)

- Focusing more on what brings you joy and why you think that is

Sometimes when we get really good at something, we stop learning. When this happens, we actually start to slowly lose the mastery of that subject or process even though we "think" we know it all. I believe this applies both to the mental and physical aspects of our training.

When do we learn and grow the most?

Sometimes it's when we change it up and try something new.

Gratefully, 

MarkCEO Team MPI