Workouts with a Purpose

I grew up a basketball player and a runner. My favorite coach of all time was John Wooden, and I attended his Summer Basketball Camps four years in a row as a teenager. He is one of the greatest in college basketball history, winning ten NCAA Basketball Titles in the 60’s and 70’s at UCLA. John Wooden was truly a great. Along with a tremendous legacy as one of the greatest teachers and coaches in college athletics, he gave us many legendary quotes. Many of his ideas are captured in his Pyramid of Success. One of my favorite quotes (found in the Pyramid) from Coach Wooden applies well to triathlon training (and coaching), and to many aspects of life as well:

“Never mistake activity for achievement”

With his succinct approach and typical wisdom, that statement says so much.

Activity without a purpose is usually wasted time and energy. This applies on the basketball court, and it applies to endurance training too.

What is the purpose of the workout you are about to do? If you cannot answer that question, reconsider why you are doing it. The answer should not be hard to come by. You are either working to advance a specific ability or skill, increasing a specific aspect of fitness, maintaining it, recovering (from something much harder), or racing. If you are not doing one of these things, you may be better off saving your time and energy.

Happy (smart) training!