The Short Cut Is The Long Route

Being a principles based strength and conditioning coach in today’s media climate presents a fun challenge. Many S&C coaches are trying to sell the latest “hack”, “8 weeks to results”, and “super secret training program” when in reality what athletes need is a sensible program with mostly reasonable workouts executed with consistency over a long period of time. The challenge is how to communicate that this approach is in an athlete’s best interests.

The famous American strength and conditioning coach, Dan John, once said “The short cut is the long route”. My interpretation of this quote is that you will actually achieve your goals fastest by playing the long game and stacking up little wins over the long haul rather than trying to bite off big chunks of your journey too quickly.

Remember, the process of training for athleticism or increased numbers in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk is all about systematically stressing our body to induce a desired physical adaptation. Whether we like it or not, we cannot simply will our bodies to adapt to stressors faster than they are ready to. When we try to force things, our bodies usually push back in the form of stalled progress, feeling stale, or getting injured or sick.

Trying to over reach in the short term because we want results NOW can be counter productive because bodies are biological organisms that take time to adapt. Kindly, humbly, and amicably, I ask that you think about this next time you’re ready to jump on the next super intense, secret, hack, ab-shredding, beginner-to-olympian program.

I almost hesitate to send this as a marketing email because this stance is not sexy. That said, I care about this audience and want to see everyone succeed at whatever your athletic goals are. So, I give this advice because IT WORKS.

Best of luck with your training today!

With Thanks,