A 50-year perspective on endurance sports training highlights that elite athletes seek marginal gains of <1%, and varied, actionable training programs yield similar performance outcomes.
This essay highlights five key principles derived from 50 years of experience in endurance sports training, emphasizing the importance of marginal gains and actionable strategies.
This essay summarizes and integrates my experiences and observations-starting in the middle 1970s-as an athlete, scientist interested in human performance, biomedical researcher, and "expert," who sometimes advises athletes, coaches, and sports policy-makers. In this context, my focus has been primarily on endurance sports and five concepts underpin what I have learned over the last 50 years. (1) The "competitive significance principle" whereby athletes, coaches, and policy-makers are frequently interested in performance improvements of 1% or less. This is especially true at the elite level. (2) Science frequently explains what coaches and athletes have already discovered in the field. (3) Many science-based performance improvements have reduced the energy cost of moving a given speed. (4) Varied and eclectic training programs have been used by elite athletes with similar performance outcomes. (5) A few things that are actionable matter. Coaches, athletes, and administrators should focus their efforts on what is actionable.
Michael J. Joyner (Wed,) conducted a review in Endurance sports. A 50-year perspective on endurance sports training highlights that elite athletes seek marginal gains of <1%, and varied, actionable training programs yield similar performance outcomes.