I am sure that all of you have heard about the kiss principle; keep it simple stupid. This should be a fundamental law when it comes to the training of athletes.
But yet, not only is this principle ignored, but it appears that training programs and exercises are being made more complex. Why this is done is debatable, since it does not lead to the development of better athletes.
Is greater complexity used as a means to appear impressive or is there a valid reason for making the training of an athlete more complex. Understand that as complexity increases, the difficulty in working with the athletes also increases.
This in turn leads to greater misunderstandings and less control over the athlete’s training. By less control I mean that it becomes more difficult if not impossible, to monitor exactly what is happening to the athlete based on a specific exercise or type of training.
However, if you do it right, the training should be simple. It should be easy to understand, apply and follow. Because the process is very simple, many coaches believe that they will not get good results and thus have a tendency to make it more and more complex.
But if you do it right, you’ll get the results very quickly without making the process more difficult. One of the key factors is making sure that technique of execution of all the exercises is correct. If not, you will not get the same results. Thus this should be one of the main factors in doing it right and keeping it simple.
Targeting the training to specific areas that are used in execution of the sport skill is also very important. But yet, many coaches make it more difficult by spending considerable time training in exercises and skills that are not related. Understanding the differences between general and specialized becomes very important here.
The bottom line is that all training especially on the beginning and intermediate levels should be very simple and clear cut. This will produce the fastest gains in the shortest amount of time.
For more information see Build a Better Athlete. For information on special sports, see the books in the explosive training series.