Have you been experiencing challenges to your programming efforts recently?

Creating the correct programming always presents challenges because there are so many factors. 

Athlete type, schedule, age, the list is long. 

Check out 8 areas to consider when programming.

8 Things to think about when Programming 

1. You have to be willing to do the monotonous stuff- the mundane.

There are things about every program that isn’t “exciting”. Even technical work like our drill series can feel like they’re getting “old”. 

This is where you need to be careful. It’s in your program for a reason. Trust it, and stay with it. 

2. Try to do each portion of this including the prehab and non sexy stuff.

Prehab, trunk prep, warmup - not sexy. But incredibly important. 

Most of this stuff is simple. Most athletes can do it easily, in a short amount of time. So DON’T skip it. 

None of the sexy stuff is worth it if the body isn’t mobile, aligned, healthy, and prepared to sprint.

3. Continue to rep the little stuff to get better, don’t worry about perfection 

A lot of  us tend to struggle with this one. We want our athletes to get something perfect before moving to the next progression. 

But you need to learn not to be so focused on perfection. 

Obviously the proper form and technique is important, but the last thing you want to do as a coach is get the athlete in their head. 

The body needs this time to prepare for high velocities. It’s not worth the injury risk. 

5. If you feel a tweak, back off, don’t do more reps .

This one’s self explanatory. Sprinting at peak speeds is one of the biggest stressors on the CNS. 

This is how injuries happen. 

6. Track your progress by keeping a journal of how you feel each day, etc. 

You should always ask your athletes questions like: 

“How did you feel after yesterday’s session” 

“Did you get a good night’s sleep last night” 

As well as questions that help you get to know them better. The prehab/warmup period is a great time for this. It also gives insight if the athlete may be sluggish or underperforming. 

Is there some outside factor that could be affecting them? 

7. Measure what you can measure

Whatever data you’re able to collect, do it. Make sure it’s actionable. Make sure you know how to interpret it. 

But track progress, see improvement. Create that accountability and competition. 

8. Compete & input your data into the Universal Speed Rating 

The Universal Speed Rating was built for this. To track progress, to give athletes a benchmark & goals to shoot for. To give coaches a way to manage their athletes and create a speed community backed by data. 

You can talk with a member of the Universal Speed Rating team to learn about a partnership.

Either way, encourage your athletes to take their data seriously, and let it fuel them to hit the next benchmark, and start hitting their goals. 

A final word on programming. 

We have focused on testing and individualizing so much that sometimes the message gets lost. 

To get fast, you need to sprint. To improve the way you accelerate, you need to work on your horizontal power.

You need to balance from lower to higher volume with increasing intensities and exposures to more impacts. You need to recover with lower intensity that keeps the nervous system fresh.

The basics will always be the basics. The most important thing is, do NOT get bored with the simplicity. 

For more information and tips on effective programming, check out the Elite Speed Program.