Keep it Simple

What a great saying, "keep it simple." Life, our lives and the social politics that surround everyone and everything create such complexities that I am convinced we would all be much better off if our main goal was to... keep things simple.

One way to do this is to be ourselves. Say what we mean instead of trying to say what we think someone else might want to hear. Say what we mean and if we find ourselves, ah, how shall I say this, if we are not quite correct or accurate in our words then we should just suck it up and eat our words. Maybe we could say sorry or maybe we could say something to set the record straight. Then, we could move on.

What we say, is hopefully a reflection of what we believe. But I can think of a dozen times when for whatever reason I have heard someone say something that they really don't believe is true. Why do they say these things? Well, often it is out of anger or maybe just in the heat of a debate.

What on earth does all this have to do with athletics? Well everything. For example, I hear people dread about a set in swimming that is offered by a coach or a triathlete who is dreading a long bike ride. The say things like, "do I have to?" Quickly my reply is "absolutely not." You do not have to do this. Here is a great word. Want. I love to hear someone say, I want to do that... whatever "that" is. From desire comes want. My hope today is that all of us have a desire to do something active. And from that we want to get out there and do it!

Go forth all!

Coach Dave

Stuff vs Skill

So many times I see people, athletes, get too unbalanced in regards to what they think will help them improve at their given sport. It seems get caught believing that the stuff they buy will help them improve more than building their skill and or conditioning.

It certainly gets a little distracting especially when you see sports like swimming start to go in this direction. Swimmers now have new speedy suits that are pretty much like wetsuits that enable swimmers to float better and thus attain greater speeds. These are a sore subject with me - I'm for banning them. But in my other sports, I see and hear people talk about the products with as much emphasis or even instead of talking about the skills and conditioning and improving these areas which is what is really going to make the difference.

True, it is fun to go out and buy all the latest coolest equipment for your sport. In cycling and triathlon you have everything from whole new bikes, to the parts that go on them. Stuff like super light racing wheel sets, new lightweight groupos (components), aerobars, helmets, wetsuits and every other little gadget. I agree that some pieces of equipment are clearly a must while others are honestly a little beyond what we can really use.

Just today, on my way to the motocross track I was talking to a fellow mx rider and he was telling me that I should get a new exhaust system so that I'd have more power. He continued that there are some good engine mods (modifications) that I could have done that would also boost my horsepower... Funny thing is, I'm not close to stretching my bike to the limit yet. My bike is stock. Additionally, I lent my bike to an athlete I coach who is a pro motocross rider Stephen (Stella). I do fitness training with him. His skill level is far beyond mine. I had the pleasant opportunity to see what my bike is capable of and darn it looked good. He was flying over a nice 100 foot table top jump. He was turning the bike like it was on rails. Poetry in motion to see him ride.

What I'm getting at is that athletes who want to improve should put their resources into getting help with improving their own performance. Coaching and technique lessons on a regular basis will far outweigh even the best equipment. I fully support getting good equipment because after all, it's kind of hard to ride without a bike... But once you have the stuff, like a bike for example. Get some coaching. I'll say it again, get some good coaching. Get your technique checked out and work regularly with a good coach. This is going to make the biggest difference in your improvement and your enjoyment out of your sport.

I'm not saying not to buy all that fun new stuff. That can be a great reward for hard work. Also, safety gear is always good to have. Just make sure that you are keeping focused on improving your skills, your techniques and your conditioning first.

Keep improving!

Coach Dave

I Stand Corrected - A Lesson Remembered

The past two weeks have been absolutely fabulous weather-wise here in Baltimore. This makes it so easy to get out on the bicycle and get some nice miles in. While on one of my favorite routes, at the right time of day with minimal traffic, I felt so relaxed as I rode through one of those almost "to good to be true" moments in time. No cars, beautiful roads, clear good weather, cold water in my water bottles, just ideal conditions. How can it be better?

Don't know what it is, maybe turning the cranks helps my brain turn out some good thoughts but I always have the best idea development while riding. Still, realizing that things can change in a split second, I always urge myself and others not to totally day-dream while riding on the road. But this is not a post on good things gone bad.

It is my recollection of a humorous but potent memory of a lesson that I learned one day at a bike race.

My teammates and I were dressing in our cycling gear, getting ready to warm up for our race which was going to start an hour or so later. At local races, you have all the different categories of racing throughout a day. The original posted timeline for race starts can get totally off track because of races taking longer or crashes for example.

With a vivid memory, I can still hear my teammate asking, "what race is going on now?" I looked up and saw the pack coming around and my reply was, "looks like the juniors out there now." "We still have the girls race next before ours...." Suddenly, as I sat on the ground putting my cycling shoes on, I noticed the wheel of a bike pull in right next to me. A little surprised by the close proximity of the front wheel, which was about 11 inches from my head, the rider of the bike leaned over and asked, in a bit of a biting manner, "what did you call that race?"

My brain scrambled to make sense of what was going on. Then, I realized, it was one of the women racers who, had taken offense to me calling her race the "girls" race. Ouch, what to do?

Well, immediately, I said, kiddingly, "you can call our race the 'boys' race." Well that didn't score any points with this rider. After a short but terse conversation, she rode off and I sat there a little puzzled with myself. My buddies looked at me. We all agreed that she must have had supersonic hearing to catch my words.

A little embarrassed, I quickly came to the conclusion that I agreed with her. Rather than trying to convince myself that she was being overly sensitive about my misguided categorization of she and her fellow athletes. I looked at this situation as a great opportunity to remind myself of the power of words. When we think, we usually think in terms of words. What words we use to describe things, events, people and even ourselves can really determine and influence our world. I enjoy considering the perception and the perspective of those people around me. I'd like to see more of this actually.

So the importance of this lesson is to pick your words carefully. Life is usually better when you feel like you are accurately understood.

In my own athletic pursuits, I want to see what can achieve. And, what I or any of us want to achieve is most likely something that we have never done before. It is a step, or many steps into the unknown. That means we are venturing into the territory of the new and uncharted so to speak. That is often accompanied by a question of whether we can actually attain that goal. We then may not have that same amount of confidence that we usually have. But that is what is what, in my opinion we need to do as often as possible. But, with that, I think it's somewhat easy to get off the track of good self-communication and the positive self-talk cycle that helps to keep pointed towards the achieving any goal.

For the athletes I coach, I can clearly see that I am not the only one who needs to remind himself of keeping on track. It is important as a coach to help athletes through these slips forward progression. It starts with the words we say to ourselves and surely any words that come out of our mouths. When we say things like, "I stink at this..." we create a block from progressing. But when we say things like, "I feel like I'm getting this...." Or even, "that was OK" we avoid holding up our forward progression.

Well, looks like another nice day today! Great day for a ride and more thinking. I hope all of you have the opportunity to do something that is new, exciting and fun. And I hope while you do it, that you will pick the words that you say to yourselves and others that are reflective of a positive direction!

Have fun and say what you mean out there,

Coach Dave

Attitude is Everything

OK, in talking to about a dozen of my athletes over the past week I keep on coming back to one
recurring theme. We've all heard it but it is so true. Attitude is everything. Now I don't mean the kind
of 'attitude' that some people hold - like their sweat doesn't stink... No, I mean that any athlete or fitness seeker can realize success if they have the right perspective.

Success is a definite motivator. So allowing ourselves to acknowledge our achievements however big or small
is a great exercise. Success is fun and having fun leads to success. As I say, the road to achieving a goal is as important as the goal itself.

One of my favorite clients, a great guy named Billy, who has just achieved a 4th degree in Taekwondo is not only a great martial artist, he is a great person. In a conversation he said something that was music to my ears. His words, I thought were a true window to his sole. He said something to me that was so simple but so essential to success. His statement was, "I like to have a good time." This statement is pure and it is what everyone should say. We do the things we do because we want to have a good time. But wait... not always. I constantly witness people loosing sight of the big picutre. It shows in their attitudes that are characterized sometimes by a bit of drudgery or guilt and are often accompanied by statements like, "...ok, I'm going to drag myself through this...." Or sometimes phrases like, "do I have to do this?"

My vision detects a sort of conflict or possibly, said in a different way, I see mixed signals. Why do we want to tell ourselves anything but that which is consistent with the direction of our goal. Sadly, I think we learn as adults to be adults. Adults can do things. When we can'd do things or when something is not familiar to us many of us tend to shy away from doing it. It could be anything from dancing to skiiing to riding a bike. If we are not proficient, we steer clear of engaging in that particular activity. And especially when we are being watched.

How do we break through this. Billy and I love to discuss new training techniques. He will try any new exercise or fitness move I throw at him in the gym. In another discussion he spoke about how we have to be a child sometimes. If you think this sounds like hogwash, you are exactly the person who needs to be more of a child - at times. Let me clarify what I mean. A child of learning. Instead of assuming that you are supposed to be good at something because you are an adult you need to clear that thought out of your mind. You must assume the mind of the child and try that something. Within reason, we need to forget our chronological age and be a child and get out there and do it. (Disclaimer... if it is an activity that is beyond a certain risk threshold, like freestyle bmx jumping... get some instruction first... I say that with humor...)

So today's post, just be a child at heart and in attitude. Especially if it leads to venturing into the unknown of a new and potentially rewarding experience.

Have fun!

Coach Dave



Back to my client

Getting Tempered with Stephen Stella

I am really impressed with a young athlete I am working with.  This athlete puts in some big miles on the roads on his bicycle but he is not a triathlete or a bicycle racer.  He runs and he has put in some brutal sessions with me pushing him hard in the weight room.  I even have him training in the pool and having coached national level swimmers, I am very impressed with his natural ability, coordination he has quickly learned good freestyle technique in the pool.  One day I will get him into a triathlon.  

Who is this athlete and what sport does he do?  His name is Stephen Stella and he is a professional motocross racer number 343.

I tell many of my friends who swim competitively, or road race on bicycles or do triathlons and they kid me and say, "you train this guy who races a motorcycle?"  The mountain bikers seem to understand.  But the others kid me and ask, "what do you do have him move his wrist a couple of times...?  Meaning they are under the gross misconception that all a motorcycle racer does is twist the throttle with their right hand.  They think, it's gotta be easy, there's a motor on the thing.  

If it's worth it, I set them straight and tell them, well there is a motor on these bikes but it's a hard sport.  In fact, Personally I ride a bicycle, swim workouts, run and the highest heart rate that I see on my heart rate monitor is when I ride my Yamaha YZ 250F (a motocross motorcycle) at the motocross track.  Somewhere around 180 beats which has to be near my max heart rate.  

Pro mx racers race for about 35 minutes usually with a heart rate of 180-190 beats per minute.  That is redline my people!  I love anything with two wheels and love the workout I get from my bikes.  

Back to Stephen.  This guy is getting tempered the way I like.  He is learning a great deal about training and he loves to work hard.  So all the ingredients are there for a great season but in pro motocross you need sponsorship to compete.  The top racers in the sport have an exponential advantage.  Nice schedules where their bikes are built, tuned and maintained.  They get a salary from their factory supported team so they don't have to work another job.  To boot, they are racing a bike that probably costs anywhere from 40-120K.  

My post here sounds all chummy up until now.  True we have everything going really well right now with fitness training, a good bike, and a great mechanic.  We are batting heads with the sports top racers like I described above, on a bike and budget that is nowhere near theirs.  

But here is the push, on our way back from the first Natioanl Pro at High Point Raceway in right outside of my old hometown of Morgantown, WV, Stephen's cell phone rang.  It was the owner of the shop that had basically lent him race bikes as a racer sponsorship deal.  The shop going out of business.  Ugh!  That means Stephen is loosing his bikes.  No ride!  Ugh again.  

Loosing your bikes is not a good thing!  You can't really hit the starting line with running shoes. Important piece of equipment there.  His next race is on the 4th of July weekend at Red Bud in Michigan.  Talk about having to hold things together.  

The optimist in me sees this as an opportunity.  I think, let's go talk to some big sponsors.  The realist in me says, we have some serious work to do to land a new sponsor and go compete with the guys at the top.  This is definitely going to be a challenge.  Amazing, all the right ingredients and no oven to bake them in... so to speak.  

Anyone want to sponsor a proven professional motocrosser with a tone of potential?

Keep posted!  Coach Dave

PS  To see Stephen in ripping some practice laps at the track, check this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKaok-RHF_0 

Nutrition for Real

I was having a nice conversation with an old friend of mine who is a nutritionist.  She has worked with people for years who desperately need to alter their nutritional intake.  Or should I just say they should start to eat well.  Or, said even another way, they need to cut out the junk food.  Those empty nutritionally void foods with lots of preservatives, additives, high sodium, high fat foods.

One small comment that she made really had a big impact on me.  Her comment was "... when you are up against the big food companies your going to loose...."  She was talking about her frustration with getting people to eat a well balanced nutritionally sound diet.  It's so easy to succumb to the temptation of buy one get one free ice cream or super convenient foods ready to go easy to eat.

Getting people to eat whole foods instead of highly processed foods is a tough go.  So many things that are on the shelves of the grocery store are to put it bluntly garbage.  (That is my opinion.) Food companies package their garbage food very nicely and market it heavily to unknowing people who allow themselves to take for granted the fact that they see a food sold in a store so it must be ok.  

We spoke further and she commented to me that many people I work with who are athletes are motivated to eat right.  I agreed but then thought about a different industry and that is the "nutritional supplement" industry.  This is a huge multi-million or maybe billion dollar industry.  I'm not against convenience in replenishing lost carbs and protein after a hard workout, but I see some athletes fall prey to the marketing of these products.  I will say now that there is absolutely no magic food.  No on food or supplement is going to make anyone have a superstar performance.  Sorry, that is the truth.  The good news is that it's all you if you do have a great performance.

So rather than just ranting about all this, I will just say what I believe.  Any time someone asks me about nutrition, I first recommend they talk to a registered dietician or a good nutritionist.  Then I tell them about a true eating formula that can do them wonders.  Here goes...  

Drink water and stay hydrated, eat foods in their, or close to their natural form instead of in a highly processed state.  Eat vegetables and fruits.  Eat lean meats if you eat meat.  Give yourself a day each week to eat anything within reason.  Eat something simple, carbs and protein within 20 minutes of finishing your hard workouts.  Go for a variety of natural foods in your dietary intake.

Keep it simple and keep it real!  Coach Dave

Speed Suits (Swimming)

I am disappointed in a huge way with the sport of competitive swimming.  Swimming is not, and should not be, in my opinion an "equipment" sport.  It's an athlete and water.  Aside from open water events the distance is set,  the course is consistent and up until these darns super swim suits, you could pretty much compare the swims of today with those of years ago.  

Sure there have been technical rule changes in the strokes, but that still leaves the athlete to master the technical part and train hard to achieve their goal time.  Now, you have super buoyant swim suits that cover the athlete, making a more streamlined figure through the water.  Darn, might as well let swimmers get on a surf board and just paddle.

Further, you now have times set in the new suits, from local to world records and it's pretty much aided not by better training or a mental breakthrough but because of some new material, trapped air inside the suit and the floatation properties of the suit.  All this translates into, "let's buy some speed."  There is a gray zone now.  Some records have been set and we'll see if they stick or if they have an asterisk in the record books or if they will just nullify them.  What a mess.

Now, you have a sport where the equipment is going to be a $1000 dollar commitment annually because these suits are not only super buoyant but also super expensive.  Being in the sport of triathlon since 1986 I have seen a whole explosion of products that give athletes more speed if they are willing to cough up some dollars.  Race wheels, 3 grand (yes, $3000 dollars without tires) aerobars for over 400 bucks, where does it end.  Well I can except that almost because it a technology sport.  The bike is a machine, a wonderful one, but by the nature of it it is outside the athlete which changes the whole dynamic.  It is a necessary piece of equipment so it's fair game.  

Swimming though, what a beautiful sport we had.  Nothing but you, the starting block, 25 or 50 meters of water and it's go time.  Now I hear kids say things like, well I was 2 tenths of my national cut but with the suit I think I can be there and make the time standard..."  How disappointing to rely on some new tech instead of your own guts, hard work and determination.

I wonder who is getting a big paycheck?  My feeling is that the people who make the rules at FINA and USA Swimming might be getting a sweet little stash of cash to create rules that allow the new suits.  Disappointing when you take a once pretty pure sport and throw the dynamic of an arguably unfair edge to the competitors whose hunger for improvement becomes clouded by an untrue assist.  More on this as we go...

Stay true!  Coach Dave