The Bluprint Way
“There is no substitute for hard work.”
“Sweat is pain leaving the body.”
“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
You’ve probably heard all of these sayings before. And chances are you’ve interpreted them like this: “I have to work HARDER.”
But in reality it’s about more than just working harder…it’s about working SMARTER.
If you’ve got an athlete head like mine, it’s easy to put your head down and grind. You LOVE the feeling of hard work. But if this working hard isn’t paired with making smart decisions in training, diminishing returns show their nasty heads in the form of injury, performance plateaus, and decreased movement function.
So how do we work hard & smart at the same time?
At Bluprint, we love to use this time equation to keep us on track:
50% Training + 40% Practice + 10% Testing/Competing = 100% RESULTS
So let’s break this down.
- Training (50% of the time): To put this simply, this is the time spent trying to improve your fitness. Think strength & conditioning at sub-maximal loads that are geared at creating performance gains. Improving strength, stamina, endurance, and power are all goals during this part of the equation.
- Practice (40% of the time): Practice…we talking about practice (Allen Iverson Voice). Practice is about getting better at specific movements with low levels of fatigue. This part of the equation includes appropriate set gymnastics & weightlifting movements AND mobility work to improve positioning.
- Testing/Competition (10% of the time): You already know what this is…MAXIMAL EFFORT. This is where you get to show off the amount of Training & Practice you’ve put in. Think 1RM test, max rep gymnastics, the CrossFit Open, etc.
This creates a balanced training pyramid (see below-left) that is foundational to long-term health & fitness success with HIGH performance gains and LOW injury rates.
When this pyramid is turned upside down (see above-right), we invite the negative aspects of “working hard” to the training party.
Current Bluprint Athletes: I want to challenge you to train smarter. We are a highly skilled coaching program that cares deeply about YOU reaching your goals in the most efficient ways possible. This means following the program and supplementing with your specific wants/needs in a smart way. More is not always better.
Future Bluprint Athletes: I want to encourage you to find a Coaching Program that sets you up for long-term success. To reach goals, you must consistently: 1) have fun, 2) work hard, 3) be held accountable.
Here’s to Training with Purpose.
Coach Byron
