Coaching Field Notes
One short coaching lesson a week, written for independent coaches. Each note starts with a real decision I made for an athlete, walks through why I made it, and ends with something to check in your own programming. Read them here, or have each one land in your inbox. Episode recaps from Coaching Conversations, the podcast I record with Ryne Sullivan, live here too.
COACHING FIELD NOTES
One coaching lesson a week, written for independent coaches.
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What We Didn't Know We Didn't Know
You can't Google a question you don't know to ask. What Haley and I learned about ultra prep from Scott Hagnas, ultra runner and powerlifter.
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Does Cardio Kill Your Strength Gains?
The interference effect does indeed exist. However, with good programming principles, it’s pretty minor. It's a programming problem, not a physiology problem.
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You Don't Rise to the Occasion on Competition Day
Ryne Sullivan and I on getting the most out of a competition weekend: plan every part of the day, stay in your lane, watch the early heats and recover to baseline.
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Is Fatigue Necessary for Adaptation?
Fatigue isn't good or bad. The important thing to ask is whether fatigue is actually going to contribute to the target adaptation.
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The Less Time You Have, the More Specific Your Training Has to Be
Ryne Sullivan and I on training like an athlete with five 60-minute sessions a week: fewer priorities, supersets and one purpose per session.
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Not All Reps Are Made Equal
Our prescriptions are incomplete. Strength and power reps should generally be performed with maximal concentric intent.
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BFR Training Isn't Just for Elite Athletes
Ryne Sullivan and I on who blood flow restriction training is for, how to use the cuffs safely, and the BFR protocols I use with my athletes.
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Load Isn't Fatigue
Heart rate misses heavy lifting. How to track training load for mixed modal athletes with session RPE x duration and acute vs chronic workload.
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The First Things We Change in a New Athlete's Program
Ryne Sullivan and I on what we change first when an athlete starts with us, and why some CrossFitters run better on the air runner than on the road.
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The Recovery Hierarchy
Most reasons an athlete feels run down have nothing to do with recovery tools. Work up from the bottom: training balance, fuel, sleep, stress, then tools.
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Why Can't Athletes Sleep Before a Competition?
Ryne Sullivan and I on pre-competition sleep, stress you carry all day, CO2 tolerance, and why relaxing is a skill you have to practice.
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Strength Is Specific
Why doesn't improving general strength automatically improve sport performance? Which link in the chain is actually breaking?
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What Does Sport-Specific Training Look Like in CrossFit?
Ryne Sullivan and I on sport-specific training in CrossFit: set sizes, movement speed, the stage you are qualifying for, and what to peel back before you compete.
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Is There a System for Improving the Olympic Lifts in CrossFit?
Ryne Sullivan and I on assessing the snatch and clean and jerk in CrossFit athletes: technique, strength ratios, barbell cycling, and when the lifts are worth the time.
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Are There Best Practices for Coaching Functional Fitness Competitors?
The methods will continue to evolve, but good coaching principles exist now.
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Heat Acclimation Takes Months, Not Weeks
Ryne Sullivan and I on why heat acclimation is a season-long project, where heat belongs in a training week, and the recovery work that comes before any gadget.
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More Programming Options Don’t Produce Better Programs
The more programming methods you learn, the harder programming can become.
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Session Intent: What are we trying to improve here?
Movement order, rest, and pacing all change what a workout asks of an athlete. Those choices should come from what you're trying to improve.
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COACHING FIELD NOTES
One coaching lesson a week, written for independent coaches.