Peter Ventre

By A. G. L. VENTRE

(With illustrations based on films of Olympic athletics)

Towards better performance

Use this web site to help you to train effectively. It contains the essential aspects of techniques and advice which will help you to devise a training pattern.

Remember that:

1. Any schedule you devise should be tailored for your own purpose. Become expert in setting your own work schedule.

2. An A.A.A. coach can help, so contact one in your area. There are many of them, dedicated to helping young athletes.

3. Practice must be efficient. Learn to analyse your own performance. Concentrate on one aspect of technique at a time and think about it before and after each trial. Whilst you should select one part of the action for special attention, recognise that it can be affected by any action preceding it. This means that you must perform the complete action; little is gained, for example, by practising standing shot putting.

4. In all field events there is a vital moment to which all things preceding it contribute and which affects the action following, this is the moment of take off or of projection of the implement. Your special focus of attention must be to this moment and all that occurs before it.

5. Activities such as basketball and circuit training can be light relief from serious training, but you must not expect them to contribute much to your fitness for athletic competition. Cut out all frills in training.

6. You should decide how much time you can spare for training each week and restrict any one session to 40 minutes of hard work. Set yourself a schedule of work each week, so that you know exactly what you intend to do in each session.

7. Seasonable variations in training are fashionable but not very sensible. Of course the weather will affect the training pattern but your intention should be to pursue the same aim improving performance throughout the whole year, adjusting the targets and nature of the work which you set yourself.

8. Learn to utilise developing .strength, speed and skill by adjusting your technique in pursuit of better performance. The high jumper who gets into a habit of approaching the bar at the same speed, or the middle distance runner who laps at a steady rate, season after season, have become complacent with their performances.

9. Power developed through heavy resistance exercises can help to improve performance (see page 24) providing that you learn to express it in your event. Any athlete becomes better by practising his event often in a competitive situation.

10. Keep a record of work done and performances achieved in training. Compete against yourself as well as against others. The barriers to better performance are largely psychological only you can remove them.

11. Facilities are inadequate. The real need is not for more tracks but for good training areas incorporating good running, throwing and take off surfaces and good landing areas. Demand a better training environment from all the people with whom you come in contact that might be able to help. If we all do this, progress will be made. Meanwhile you must work hard and not make poor facilities an excuse for poor performance.