There is a very interesting new study I want to tell you about today. It involved a team of amateur cyclists engaged in their normal training and racing over the course of a full season. At the beginning of the study period, researchers brought all of the cyclists into the lab and had them perform a simulated 40K time trial and recorded the details of each subject’s performance. This test was repeated approximately every four weeks over the next 24 weeks. At the beginning of the study period each team member also filled out a questionnaire designed to assess the athlete’s level of enjoyment of his or her training. The questionnaire was administered again at two-week intervals over the next 24 weeks.
Can you see where this is going? The researchers found a strong correlation between enjoyment and performance. The cyclists whose time trial performances improved the most over the course of the season also exhibited the highest levels of overall enjoyment of their training and racing. What’s more, high levels of enjoyment appeared to be predictive of improvement. That is, when an increase in enjoyment was registered in a given questionnaire, improved time trial performance tended to follow. This finding is important because it suggests that the proper conclusion of the study is not merely the obvious fact that improving is fun. The results also suggest that athletes who are having fun in their training for reasons other than improvement are likely to improve because of it.
For some time now I have been advising my fellow endurance athletes to get creative in their training and to design workouts and periodization patterns based on hunches, gut feelings, preferences and so forth, instead of tying themselves to standard methods. I give this advice in part because I believe that our feelings about training are potentially powerful guides to the best course to take in our training. It’s a brain training thing. The subconscious brain mediates between one’s body and one’s conscious goals and plans and is therefore the best oracle for maximum progress. Crudely put, there is value in applying the maxim “If it feels good, do it” to one’s training.
This new study strongly validates my beliefs in this regard. There’s only one problem. The study never happened. I made it up. It’s a study I’ve wanted someone to do for some time, and the results I described are the very results I would expect from such a study if it was done. I just thought I would put it out there in hopes that the idea will filter its way to a professional who has the expertise, resources and inclination to make it real.
Check out Matt's blog at www.mattfitzgerald.org
ShareThis