Training to be a Consummate Athlete is about using Cross-training to foster Consistency, Confidence and Community (the 4 Cs !) We also encourage athletes to think about things other than physical training by being prepared, taking care of their equipment, working on their sport specific and general movement and by learning about tactics.
In practice this means that we encourage the athletes we coach and those who listen to our podcast and read our articles to embrace different sports and movements depending on their interests, their context, their seasons and their current abilities.
Get the 8 Week Cross-Training Base Training Plan from Consummate Athlete on Training Peaks
How to build out a Consummate Training Plan
- Tactics – Know what matters in your sport. Many athletes come to us thinking that mountain bike training is like road training. Treat your sport like a game (or rather, remember it is JUST A GAME). This is perhaps simple but not easy to make time for in some cases. Read books about the sport (especially older ones), watch races (including older ones), take a course, or study video are common ways to become a ‘student of your sport’.
- Be Prepared, Be organized – Being consummate at anything means you are ‘put together’ (think about James Bond or being a ‘consummate professional’). You do the work, you show up on time, you are prepared, you have clean/functioning equipment. This is all controllable and independent of genetics or even skill/ability. We have had clients go to courses about personal finance or organization and even get their home organized by interior designers! Our Book ‘Becoming a Consummate Athlete‘ includes several chapters on organizing gear and choosing gear that can be used for multiple sports.
- General Skills – General movement skills can be learnt at home by practicing strength training and by doing activities like yoga, pilates or martial arts. Taking time for these skills often spirals into new hobbies, if not a change in your main sport but importantly provide new experiences and communities. Including Strength, Power, Coordination and Mobility in these ‘general’ training sessions is time well spent and can make new skills, abilities and performances possible in your main sport(s).
- Sport Specific Skills – Planning skill training for your sport is foreign to many endurance athletes but it is time well spent. This can be a solo pursuit, a fun session with a friend (watch kids at a skate board park or bike jump park for ideas), or a guided or coached session. Learn more about our getting Consummate Athlete Bike Skills Coaching
- Engine Building – This is the training many endurance athletes do. Building your endurance is important and beneficial. Our belief is that cross-training gives you options to stay consistent over time. You can adapt to weather, terrain, training partners and work around injuries and fatigue. Build the engine but remember variety.
Want to learn more? Check out our book for all of our key pillars to training like a Consummate Athlete!
