Slow down. I could hear my parents saying it over and over again. Andrew, stop rushing! What’s the hurry? I was always the kid who wanted to get through his work so he could run outside and escape the structured work of school. I always wanted to read a book, just not the one I was being assigned to write.a report on. I was a dessert first, hard work last, kind of kid. Not for my parents lack of effort - they constrained harder - no fun could be had at home until the work was done.

We’ve heard the cliches over and over again from coaches and fellow athletes

Avoid Zone 3, Easy Days Easy, Base is the place. It’s a cute way of saying: slow down, there is no need to rush this. Pushing a little harder and stretching your definition of easy is the trap athletes fall into quite frequently. It’s not your fault - at least at first. Only after you’ve tried to kill yourself out on every run will you understand that it won’t get you what you wanted.

The underlying reason athletes don’t slow down? Trust.

This lack of trust is one that has been instilled in them since they were very young. The soccer coach giving endless drills and wind sprints. The mentality of “You only get results out of handwork”. Where many people miss the mark is that they assume that the hard work they need to be doing is always pushing hard, finishing a run out of breath, maybe tasting a few pennies on their tongue. That reassuring sting of being bent over, chest heaving - that must be where the work is done, right?

Right?

Coaches, it’s not your fault. It’s a mental and cultural battle we’re fighting

It’s a rampant plague on social media - grind culture. The only posts you get are 3 plate deadlifts, sweaty backs, and sweat stained floors from the umpteenth burpee and muscle up. The real battle isn’t to get people to work harder these days - it’s actually teaching people how to slow down. As a coach, I consider myself a teacher - a teacher that first has to teach people to ignore that voice in their head.

The voice that screams: “Harder IS Better” , “You’re not tired ENOUGH”, “Until you can’t do one more”

Fists clenched, heart pumping - screaming into the void. Trying to understand why progress is stagnating with effort at an all-time high. Every ride, run, or swim pushing you deeper and deeper into a rut. Surely finesse and control are the last things that will set you free. Fight, scramble, and change directions - longer reps, shorter reps, hills, more weight on the bar, less reps higher weight. This is around the time where people start to look for a coach - completely lost in a world of information.

Making a Shift towards Methodical, Consistent, Control

In nearly a decade of coaching - 3 words come up again and again. Boiling down the big complex topics of training, periodization, and peaking come back to 3 things: Methodology, Consistency, and Control. When we stray away from this triad or train unconsciously we open ourselves to frustration, regression, and impulse.

Methodology

It’s not just having an underlying reason for doing what you’re doing. It’s about having a system that builds trust (see the point above). It’s about having a process in which to follow; a progression of effort. When we’ve got a plan to follow - we begin to obtain consistent results. However, consistently training hard and frequently can also achieve short term results. So then, how does a methodology differ from the sporadic, impulsive desire based training system? Having a methodology demands that you apply equal value to rest and recovery as you do intensity. Hard every day is not a methodology built in trust - it’s a broken mindset built in a belief that fitness is like building a house of cards in a wind tunnel.

Consistency

We are what we consistently do. The hard every day model is one built one practicing coming up short and always leaning into impulse. I’ve seen it happen time and time again - an athlete starts to slow down on runs. They begin to recover, they start to feel good, and that nagging voice in their head they tried to quiet down begins to roar “You’re not doing enough”. This impulse leads to the ultimate crumbling of the entire training system. Not from one single run but from cutting the foundation out from underneath the athlete.

When that voice begins to roar, athletes have to have an immense amount of self-control and trust in the methodology, the person behind the training, and a vision beyond the singular run. Consistency is about expanding our understanding that our fitness is built on the collective effort of our workouts. We are what we consistently do.

Control

Developing our ability to control our impulses is jus as hard as a single leg squat. Focusing on the form and movement vs. being able to do it with a 45 pound kettlebell balanced over head. We often prioritize a hard effort over a beautiful effort. We’d rather just “get through it” instead of trying to make it the “best”.

Teaching athletes control is synonymous with slowing down, at least at first. It goes hand in hand with building trust. This trust building relationship demands that both parties are willing to be uncomfortable but not uncomfortable with pushing their physical limits - rather they have to face failure, be structured and methodical in their work, and stay consistent for weeks and weeks - not minutes and hours.

The discomfort here is the voice in our head dying. For some people this is a slow painful death that pushes them into a very vulnerable place because they’ve only ever gotten results one way - pushing harder and harder. For some people giving up that grasp they’ve held onto so tightly is freeing; relinquishing control is healing and “the process” sets them free.

Making a shift to slow down is about building trust, having direction, and knowing that you have the power to change your mindset, your fitness, and the outcome. It’s always been there, you just have to lean in.