Many paddlers train alone, or sometimes with a coach. But if you want to increase you chances of success, a team approach may be beneficial. Sort of a board of directors of your corporation. In addition to a coach, have a strength and conditioning coach, a sports psychologist, a doctor, a financial sponsor, and a former champion athlete on your team. You can get helpful advice from these different people to help you achieve your goals.
Michael Phelps, the champion Olympic swimmer used such an approach. He had a doctor monitoring his sleep to see if he had the correct amount and the correct type of sleep to get optimum recovery. They tested his blood to make sure he had the proper amount of different nutrients. He had much more support than most athletes get from the US Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
But you can get this team together yourself, or with the aid of a family member. There are probably a lot of people who would like to help you, if you just asked them. Schedule an appointment with them, then have periodic appointments with them afterwards. Don't wait for problems to arise. Schedule regular meetings with members of your team so they can advise you and answer any questions you have.
Lots of people are doing this all on their own. You can draw on the expertise of various people. There are people who have advanced degrees in a certain field and devoted their entire lives to a subject that you have only thought about a little and may have an opinion about but have not read all the research and don't have all the experience that they have in the field. You will be much more successful if you can draw on these various people's experience.
I see lots of athletes making judgment calls without sufficient basis for their decisions. They self-diagnose and self-treat every problem they encounter. Rather than rely on someone who has seen thousands of shoulder problems, they just use their own judgment about how to fix their own shoulder. Rather than consulting a strength and conditioning coach, they just do the same workout they always do, or one they found on the internet. This kind of poor decision-making will lead to poor results. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. The expertise is out there. Just go and ask for it. Get a team together of people who will support you in your training.
Comments