I see it a lot—ads promising programs that will have you training like a “pro”. The first question that runs through my mind is: “Pro what?” I mean, seriously? Are we talking “pro” football player? Ironman triathlete? Marathoner? Baseball player? There is such a thing as “specificity”. Each sport and athlete has different needs. No pros train alike. So, to say we train “like a pro”, we need to be a bit—quite a bit—more specific.
The second thing that runs through my mind is: “Why?” Why would anyone, who is not a professional athlete, want to train like a professional athlete? While nearly every kid dreams of being a professional athlete, few who every make it there every relish in the abuse the body takes. The elite athlete’s body takes a beating. Professional athletes often (always?) retire broken. That training “like a pro” takes its toll.
Wanting to “train like a pro” means accepting the time commitment of a professional. “Professional” means it is your livelihood. We all know that we won’t succeed in our personal careers, if we don’t show up and put in the time. So, let’s be clear. You can’t “train like a pro” if you ain’t a pro.
Beyond the advantage of time, professional athletes have the support of other professionals—team physicians, athletic trainers, massage therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, sports psychologists, nutritionists, etc. These manage training stimuli, recovery modalities, motivation, and the like. We “amateurs” don’t have the benefit of these.
All this is to say we can’t really train like a pro. We can, however, learn from what the pros do—and don’t do. We can take this information and shape what can work best for each of us in our individual plans. We can adapt the professional techniques and the science used to train the professionals, but on a much smaller scale.
Those of us “mature” adults who want to better ourselves are not athletes, per se. Thus, we don’t need to train like athletes—let alone the professionals. We need to train according to our personal needs and lifestyle demands. Let’s not pretend we are athletes when we are not. Okay. We don’t need to do that to our bodies. Suffice it to…
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!