Point Of Diminishing Returns?

By Coach Matt Russ

The joy of coaching a beginner or deconditioned athlete is that they will see amazing increases in fitness in a relatively short period of time. I recall an athlete I guided from ground zero, to running a 10 min. mile, and then progressed to a sub 7 minute mile age grouper in a single season. That is a lot of progress for a 40+ year old athlete (results of course vary).  It is an easy trap for the athlete to expect their progress to continue in a linear fashion as long as they put the time and work in.  It is important to set a reasonable level of expectation moving forward as the athlete will start butting up against certain physiological (genetic) barriers. Gains will be progressively harder to come by.  One thing is for certain and must be recognized- the faster you get the harder it is to get faster.  Perhaps the greatest challenge for a coach is squeezing more speed out of a highly conditioned and experienced athlete. 

When starting a training program from a deconditioned state virtually any training stress will produce results. Endurance is the first thing that needs to be addressed and simply completing a short race should be the primary goal. Beginners should move in a gradual and progressive manner towards their first race as their bodies adapt to the training load.   Many make the mistake of doing too much too soon, or training randomly; and subsequently experience their first over-use injury. Using even a beginner training plan goes a long way towards preventing injury, as long as volume is metered out in a progressive manner with regular recovery cycles built into the plan.

A great number athletes are happy to stay at the "complete vs. compete" level, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact it may be the most balanced approach to fitness, health, and sustainability.  But if an athlete desires continued progression, a lot more dimensions must be considered.   After establishing an aerobic endurance base strength, peak power, aerobic capacity, lactate threshold training, strength endurance, anaerobic repeatability, and/or sport specific strength/plyometric training may be judiciously incorporated into their training plan. The trick is that only a few of these substrates can be addressed in a given macro cycle, and if you try to address to many- nothing sticks.  This requires a lot of forethought, perhaps as much as an entire seasons, and a highly specific and precise training program. 

The next caveat is that what has worked in the past, successfully, may not work in the present.  We are creatures of routine and it is logical to repeat the work outs of a successful season.  But the body does not adapt that way; it requires decisive imbalance for continued growth.  Plateaus result from an energy system being targeted for too long.  Athletes will often bang away at this for years before recognizing they are making little or no progress.  Continued growth will necessitate a changing regime and perhaps a more creative approach.  It may require the objectivity of someone looking from the outside in, and perhaps a great deal of knowledge and experience to squeeze just another few percent of performance out of the athlete.

And fitness is just part of the equation.  There are a number of non-fitness related components that may yield just as much or even more performance.  Nutrition, pacing, mental skills, and injury prevention training can all make or break an athlete.  Speed skill and economy in particular may be a major limiter, as well and an athlete can only progress so far on fitness alone without addressing this often overlooked area of opportunity. A beginner athlete that runs with at 160 strides per minute, mashes the pedals, and claws through the water may become more fit, but it will become difficult to translate this fitness into actual speed.  On the professional level even small changes in economy can yield the next few minutes, or even seconds that will put them on the podium.  The challenge of addressing economy is that it is very hard to command improvement without the help of a professional.  Running in particular can be elusive as most athletes receive NO formal training on how to run.  Yet very fast runners have very different (better) form over the masses.  This is learned and trained- not born.

Is there a point of diminishing returns? At some point age catches up with us all. In general, as we age VO2 max decreases, body fat increases, and muscular strength drops off. But these can all be mitigated to an extent with proper training. In some cases athletes can still perform at an elite level into their 40's. We have all witnessed those old salts beating the spandex off of athletes 20 years their juniors. I coach a 55 year old athlete that is still setting PR's. It is very unusual to find an athlete that does not have a limiter that can be worked on. How far can you take your training? No one really knows what their true potential is but there is only one way to find out. The real fun is getting there.