Donkeys, Hard Work, and Farm Ownership
“Work!” “No one cares, work harder.” “No one has ever drowned in sweat.” “It’s a matter of work ethic.” Truth is, I’ve been guilty of spewing all of these quotes in my 20+ year career as a performance coach. In fact, my entire athletic career in college was built on a firm foundation of sweat equity! Well, experience comes at the user’s expense, and very rarely these days do these words come out of my mouth. Instead, we tell our athletes:
“Work smart, work diligently and work effectively.”
“Trim the fat.”
“Use your rifle, not your shotgun.”
“Be a hungry dog.”
“If hard work was the key to success, the donkey would run the farm.”
Donkeys don’t run farms! Smart, logical thinking, hard working men/women do! Be a farmer. Here are a few ways to think like a logical farmer during the off-season AND in-season for team sport athletes.
Time
The most precious resource of all is time! There is always a time tradeoff. The more time I spend on something, the less time I’ll have left to hone my craft, recover, sleep, hydrate, skill train, etc., etc., etc. This advice may be different pending different populations such as professional or youth athletes. However, at the foundational level, time is the same for all of us.
For every ice touch, summer combine, summer training camp, speed, power or training session there is an opportunity cost, and that cost is TIME! Answer this question: What is my biggest goal? Then challenge yourself to ELIMINATE, not ADD to the list of how to accomplish it! “Trim the Fat!” “Use your rifle, not your shotgun!”
At the professional level, skill work is king. Target context, target environment! I’ve written about this before: NIKITA KUCHEROV AND THE WISDOM OF BUDDY MORRIS. At the youth level, low hanging fruit (strength, power and speed) are king. Just make sure you allot enough time to pick it! More is NOT better. Better is better!
Intent
We’ve all heard the quote “ A large dose kills, a moderate dose inhibits, and a small dose stimulates.” As coaches, we like to think in terms of cutoffs and end points. The idea of a minimal effective dose is sexy, but in reality, its different for everybody. It’s a moving target! Having said that, here is a Meta Analysis that does provide some insight as to what it may be, and how it may be prescribed (make sure to understand the assumptions and population in the analysis).
The Minimum Effective Training Dose Required to Increase
1RM Strength in Resistance‑Trained Men: A Systematic Review
Inclusion Criteria: “The following criteria had to be met for inclusion: randomized trial, resistance training interventions lasting a minimum of 4-week manipulating dose (i.e. repetitions, sets, load, intensity of effort, etc.), a maximum of 1 working set per exercise per training session, study population consisting of healthy men with at least 1 year of resistance training experience, at least one of the powerlifts being included in the training intervention (i.e. SQ, BP, DL) and a 1RM test used to assess strength changes on the powerlift(s) pre and post training intervention.”
Key Results: “For trained men, the minimum effective training dose required to increase 1-repetition maximum (1RM) strength in the squat (SQ) and bench-press (BP) appears to be a single set of 6–12 repetitions performed with high intensity of effort at a training frequency of 2–3 times per week.”
Be a hungry dog! Side note, I have two beautiful yellow labs that sit in the air conditioning every day and get fed table scraps and two full course meals daily. Love em’ dearly, but they’re lazy. We tell our athletes to “be hungry dogs.” Hungry dogs bite! More is not better. Better is better!
Please don’t mix up the message! I value hard work, desire, dedication and discipline, but for today’s athlete there is simply too much noise, too many alternatives, too many coaches (power, speed, strength, conditioning, skill ect), too many choices and too little time. Trying to take them all in during the week is donkeys’ work. Smart farmers prioritize, organize and keep the goal the goal. Abraham Lincoln was quoted as saying “ Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the ax.”
You can be the strongest lumberjack in the world, but with a dull axe, you’re in trouble….or, you’re a donkey.
