The Development Of An Elite Athlete

     When you see an elite athlete in competition, there is perhaps a moment where you might think they were simply born that way.  So often we hear the word 'talent' thrown around as if some people are endowed with genetic gifts that make them superior to the rest of us.  While it may be true that there are certain genetic advantages among a percentage of the population, focusing on talent ignores things like discipline, process, and plain old hard work.  In fact, over the years I've seen that talent can actually be an impediment to athletes because it gives them a false sense of confidence at lower levels and doesn't prepare them for the inevitable challenges that come as they push forward. For me, when I evaluate an athlete, I am not looking at how talented they are, but rather how much drive they have.  Do they have the drive to be disciplined?  Are they ready to overcome the challenges they will face?  Will they work hard at their craft and do the work that is necessary?  These are the questions that interest me.  Time and time again I've seen the 'talented' athlete flounder as soon as they step up a level.  They crumble under pressure because they are used to dominating.  In fact, from what I have seen, the athletes who go the furthest, are the ones who have a process to develop their abilities.  They weren't born as hyper-talented individuals, but rather they worked steadily at their craft and constantly improved.  Everyone knows the tale of how slow and steady wins the race, but people still seem to overestimate athletes who show initial promise while ignoring the ones who are steadily grinding forward.

     For an athlete to fulfill their ultimate potential two things are required - drive and process.  So, what is drive?  Drive is desire.  People with desire want to move forward.  They have dreams they are working towards.  Drive is determination.  People with determination are prepared to overcome obstacles.  They aren't discouraged by setbacks, but instead, welcome the opportunity to learn something from their failures.  Drive is steadfastness.  People who are steadfast put their nose to the grindstone and do the work even when it's not fun.  They know that sometimes moving forward just plain sucks.  When other people quit, they keep going.  Drive is discipline.  People with discipline stay on course.  They don't jump from thing to thing.  They know what they need to do and they do it.  They don't hesitate, they don't get distracted - they just do it.  Drive is passion.  People with passion are excited about what they are doing; they have goals, but they don't fixate on them.  They stay in the moment and find enjoyment in the process.  For an athlete to succeed, they must, must, MUST have drive.  This is the number one most important attribute for an athlete to be successful.  To be clear, drive can be developed.  All it takes is one step forward.  Figure out what your dreams are and pursue them.  Then another step.  Resolve to keep going in the face of failure.  Then another step.  Do the work, even when it isn't fun.  Then another step.  Find passion in what you do.  Then you just keep going.  It's nothing that complicated.  You just keep going.  Keep moving forward.

     The other half of the equation in an athlete's success is having the right process.  An athlete can have all the drive in the world, but if they aren't going in the right direction, they won't make it far.   That's where a coach comes in.  And, not just any coach, an elite athlete needs an elite coach.  Someone who sees the big picture.  A good coach needs to be good at problem solving.  They also need to be relentlessly critical.  When I say, they need to be critical, I don't mean negative.  What they need to do is see the weaknesses in an athlete and constantly work on rooting those weaknesses out and making improvements across the board.  Perhaps most important in a coach, is the ability to constantly evolve.  They have to be able to look failure in the eye, and immediately work on making changes.  Having good process is all about moving forward - test, train, re-evaluate, make changes, train some more, repeat.  

     Two years ago I started working with a young cyclist.  He had visited me while he was on a road trip around the country and I told him that if he really wanted to pursue cycling he had to drop everything and move from Minnesota to San Diego.  I wouldn't charge him anything for coaching, but he would have to do exactly what I told him.  Up to that point, I had worked with several athletes, but I had never had the opportunity to try everything I wanted to.  Some athletes argued with me about training philosophy, others argued with me about nutrition, some did most of what I told them to do but ignored certain things.  So, this was finally my opportunity to see what I could do as a coach.  

       That cyclist was named Innokenty and the first thing we did was to test his power.  I sent him out for 20 minutes to see what he could do and he came back with a power of 320 watts, which put his Threshold at about 305 watts.  He weighed about 165 pounds at the time, which meant he was strong, but far from elite.  That Fall, we went to work on changing everything.  We started with a bike fit, then we changed his training.  We altered his nutrition.  We lifted weights.  We worked on his mindset, his bike handling, his tactics, his process, we changed his equipment, studied aerodynamics, analyzed bike races together, and on and on.  As the months passed, his 20-minute power steadily rose from 320 watts to 390 watts.  
I should mention that I incorrectly stated in a previous post that his power went up by 100 watts last season.  I'll come right out and say it, I was wrong.  I failed to account for differences in power meter output as well as the overinflation of Q ring data (which skews power upwards by 3-4%).  So, in fact, Inno's 20-minute power only improved by 70 watts last year.  

Despite his increase in power, Inno had an up and down spring as he developed as a racer.  He finally turned a corner in the month of June and went on a tear during the summer, winning races left and right.  

    After that first year working together, I knew there were things I wanted to change.  We bought Inno a new TT bike so that he could compete on a level playing field with the best in the nation.  We also looked into his training and made a lot of adjustments in terms biomechanics and overall training.  Coming into the 2016 season, we had high hopes, and indeed, Inno did quite well, placing on the podium in nearly every race he entered.  However wins proved to be elusive.  It seemed as if we went from one mistake to another.  The low point of the season came at the Redlands Classic, which is one of the premier national level stage races.  We had high hopes for what Inno could do, but after five days of racing he ended up a disappointing 89th overall.  That was a humbling experience, and it made us realize that if we were going to do this, we would need to significantly up our game.  So, we went back to the drawing board and made some significant changes to Inno's training.  

2nd place to the eventual Redlands Classic winner.

      A week after Redlands, Inno took a convincing win at the State Championship Road Race.  It was a welcome relief after all the hard work and frustration we had endured up to that point.  All signs seemed to be pointing towards future success.  And then, not long after, disaster.  Inno crashed four times in a week and a half, culminating with two broken wrists, a seriously damaged bike, and sense of disillusionment about the future.  Despite the challenge, we refocused and resolved to keep working even harder.   Inno got on the trainer and began logging hours and hours of work while he was in dual casts.  I tweaked things again, putting more of an emphasis on volume, and we targeted North Star Grand Prix as his first race back.  Luckily, a strong showing in the early season caught the attention of KHS/IPA Sports, and Inno found himself with an opportunity to prove himself with a new team.  North Star is a national level race, and it was a case of jumping right back into the deep end.  Despite the difficulty, Inno did well, placing a solid, if unspectacular, 40th overall.   

       At this point, we had one last objective on the calendar - Cascade Classic.  We knew the TT suited him, and we figured if we could get a win there it would be a big deal.  So, Inno kept training and building his volume. As part of his preparation, he did The Tour Of Americas Dairyland, getting into a two-man breakaway with the reigning Crit Champ Daniel Holloway.  He followed that up with a win in the TT and the overall at the Bicycle, Blues, and BBQ Omnium.  Finally, it was time to line up for Cascade.  190 of the best riders in the nation lined up to compete.  From day one, Inno rode steadily, to finish safely with the front group at the top of McKenzie Pass.  On the day of the TT he laid it all out there and he ended up placing 5th.  When all was said and done, Inno finished the race in 9th place overall.  

Photo Credit: Mathew Pastick

    This was a tough year all around, but we both grew a lot.  Inno developed as a rider, and we have a clear sense of what he needs to do to take another step forward so that he can compete at the National Level.  Looking to the future, this is a big off-season.  We have our eye set on targeting wins at the national level next year. When we started, I told Inno it would take 3-5 years to fully develop.  That means he still has another couple years before he can compare with the best in the world, but so far he's on track. Who knows what next year will bring, but in the meantime, we'll keep grinding forward.  Semper Porro.  

Opportunity and Entitlement

Imagine yourself making your way forward.  As you are going along, you come to a wall.  On the wall is a door, but it’s locked.  You look around trying to find how to get past the wall.  You could try to climb over the wall, you could look for another door, or you could just accept that you can’t go forward anymore.  Now, if you are determined, you will do everything you can to get past the wall.  You’ll be creative, you’ll find some dynamite, you’ll call in a helicopter, you'll get some friends together and build a human pyramid to get over the wall.  The point is, the wall creates drive.  The wall is something to push against.   

Walls are important because they represent resistance, and we need resistance to push against.  People respond differently to walls though.  Some people are easily stopped by resistance; they don’t have the drive to overcome what’s pushing back on them.  When a wall gets in their way, they are stopped by it.  Other people thrive on resistance. They do best the more difficult the obstacle. These are people with high drive.

People can have high drive for many different reasons.  Sometimes it’s because of pure energy.  They get over and through walls by sheer persistence.  For others, it’s because they learned to get through walls that weren’t as daunting.  Perhaps when they were young, they got through several walls, so they believed they could keep overcoming walls.  Other times, people went through walls because they had no choice.  Maybe they were forced by parents or circumstance, and as they grew older, they kept pushing through walls because that's what they were conditioned to do.  

Depending on how far a person wants to go, there comes a point where it’s simply not possible to make it through all the walls in front of them.  Walls create resistance, but too much resistance makes it’s impossible to move forward, no matter how much drive a person has.  So, to keep moving forward, there comes a point where you need help moving past some walls.

Overcoming walls with other people's help can work in one of two ways, either they can support you to get through the walls, through encouragement or a push, or they can simply unlock the door and open it for you.  When people support you, they create more drive.  It’s motivating to have people behind you pushing you through walls.  When the doors are open in front of you, it’s possible to move quickly forward, but the lack of resistance lowers drive.  

Out in the real world, if you want to move forward, you can pay someone to get you through walls, either by having them help you push through it, or by unlocking the door in front of you.  As examples, a personal trainer will push you through walls whereas an agent will unlock doors.  People with more resources have better tools to get through walls.  

For those who have few resources, they have to rely on either their drive or the support of others.  The problem with support is it inevitably creates a sense of entitlement.  The problem with entitlement is it creates low drive.  If you’ve been pushed through every wall you’ve ever come up against, or had every door open in front of you, you’ll never know how to get through things on your own.  Opportunity creates entitlement.  Entitlement creates low drive, which eventually means a person stops moving forward.  People who are entitled wait for someone else to do things for them.  They don’t know how to move forward, so they wait for a push.  They wait for someone to unlock the door for them, or for a push.  

The opposite of entitlement is humility.  A humble person will do the things they don’t want to do.  They are grateful for the things that come to them, and they go out of their way to acknowledge it.  They do the things that are hard and that aren’t fun.  They aren’t afraid of work.  More than that, they seek it.  They look for opportunities to be useful.  They don’t wait to be told how to move forward.  They don’t wait for a push.  If a door is locked, they try to find a way through it.  A person who is humble is responsible.  They do things they know they need to do without being reminded. If they say they'll do something, they do it. They are in control.

The minute a person says, “I deserve,” their drive decreases.  Why?  Because they lose sight of what matters.  When people are chasing their goals, they work hard and push for success.  Once they have success they say to themselves, I deserve this success.  As soon as they do that, they stop thinking about what matters.  And what is it that matters?  Execution.  

If you have to be reminded of something, it means your drive is low. A high drive person will figure out how to remember things they know they are supposed to do. They will create a system to execute without being told.

When a person executes poorly on little things, it also shows up in the big things.  Why?  Because that’s how behavior works.  As an example, you can tell a lot about how a restaurant is run by looking at their bathroom.  Is it clean?  Is it nicely designed and decorated?  If a restaurant goes to the effort to have a nice bathroom, you can bet they take care of their kitchen.  The same is true when you look at a person.  You can learn a lot about a person in how they dress, how they hold themselves, how they execute basic tasks.  Is there thought put into the way they dress?  Do they show up?  Do they work hard without being told?  These things matter because they are a reflection of how capable a person is.  

Ask yourself these questions.  Do you initiate?  Do you wait to be told what to do?  Do you expect a certain level of support?  Do you do the work that needs to be done to move forward?  Do you push through barriers?  People with high drive take advantage of their opportunities and they remain humble, accountable, determined.

Cutting Corners

      After a solid off-season of work, the guys came into racing season with more power than they've ever had.  They quickly showcased their abilities, placing on the podium in nearly every race they entered.  Despite that, 1st place has so far proved elusive. 

2nd place in the first race of the season

       At the Valley of the Sun TT and the Chico Stage Race TT, Innokenty Zavyalov placed 4th in the Pro 1 field against some of the top Time Trialists in the nation.  We made adjustments to his position and his process after both races and we saw solid improvements when we looked at his power and speed in training. 

3rd Overall at Valley of the Sun

     Coming into the Murrieta Time Trial, we went over every aspect of Inno's preparation.  We discussed equipment, pacing, weather, mental state, nutrition, and on and on in meticulous detail to maximize his performance.  When we left things the day before the race, I was confident we had gone over everything there was to think of.

We moved Inno's arm rests a bit wider to improve the air flow over his shoulders.

     The day of the Time Trial I waited patiently to see what the result might be.  When the live feed displayed his time I was incredibly disappointed to see that he had finished 20 seconds down on the winner in 12th place. Not long after, I received a text saying that in fact he had finished with the winning time, but that he had been docked 30 seconds for violating the centerline rule on the uphill dirt section.  Damn.  In talking with Inno afterward, he explained that a lot of other people were using the whole road on the dirt section and that he thought it would be okay to cut the corners to take the cleanest line possible.  

     One of the best things about bike racing is how clear the reality of things are, either you win or you don't.  The question at this point isn't so much what we learned in the moment - that point should be painfully obvious - but rather what do we learn going forward?  There will be other scenarios like this in the future, but they won't look exactly this.  Maybe it will be drugs.  Maybe it will be taking a free ride using a "sticky water bottle".  What's important for Inno to recognize at this point is that it's never worth it to try and cut corners.  In the long run you always end up paying for it. In this case, Inno might have sacrificed a few seconds, but he would have won.  

     We'll both learn from this and keep moving forward.  I had thought I had done everything I could to prepare Inno for success in the Murrieta TT, but this was a good reminder that there is always more to learn.  Semper Porro.

The Semper Porro Chronicles

Inno Z

     Hello everyone, I would like to announce a new project that I am going to be working on.  It will be a video series documenting the progression of Semper Porro Training.  The first video is an introduction to Semper Porro Training, with a bit of background about myself and an outline of my vision for the future.  If you want to skip to the fun stuff, videos 2 and 3 are short sweet and to the point.  I have high expectations for the future and I want to share the journey forward.  Looking forward to a great year! Semper Porro.

The Semper Porro Chronicles Vol. 1 An Introduction

The Semper Porro Chronicles Vol. 2 Palomar Mountain

The Semper Porro Chronicles Vol. 3 Fiesta Island

A trip up Palomar Mountain

      I went out with the Inno yesterday while he was doing big gear work.  We went up Nate Harrison Grade on Palomar Mountain.  That's an awesome climb.  If you ever get a chance, head up there.  The views are incredible.  

The Crushin' Russian.

Surveying the climb.

My photographer getting some height so she can get a better shot.

I really just want to spread my wings and fly.  

Bike Fit Update

      A proper bike fit is one the most critical aspects of performance in cycling and yet it is often overlooked in terms of its importance. For starters, people often approach it from a static perspective. They get a bike fit and then leave it at that, assuming they are set up "correctly".   The truth is though, the body is a dynamic system of moving parts that are constantly changing and adapting.  A good bike fit should develop along with the demands and goals of the rider.
     Before I do any fitting with an athlete, I start by looking at where they are at.  By assessing their biomechanics I can get a sense of how best to move forward.  Some cyclists have a position that is close to ideal to start with - most do not.  

      I started working with Innokenty Zavyalov a year ago and, as you can see in the picture

above, his bike fit was horribly inefficient.  In addition to having poor leverage on the pedals, he was also incredibly upright which meant he punched a massive hole in the wind.   

     The above picture was taken October 2014.  Note the upturned stem, the upright position, the locked elbows, the hunch in the lower back, the awkward cleat placement, and the lack of powerful Glute muscles.     

  

    My approach to bike fitting is to treat it as an evolving process.  I closely integrate it into the training plan of the athletes I coach.  We start with a basic bike fit and then train on it for a month.  As the body adapts and strengthens, the angles and leverage points change. Different muscles get called into play and stress is put on different ligaments and joints.  The picture above was after the initial adjustment.   

      This next picture was taken after the second bike fit, several months later.  If you look carefully you'll notice that Inno's cleat placement was better, his pelvis was more rotated, his back was a little flatter, and his arms were more relaxed. His Glutes still needed more development, but you can start to see the evolution.

    Part of the process of fitting is working around injuries, functional imbalances, and latent deficiencies.  Using an evolving model of fitting we can work around problems and correct issues over the course of months.  The process goes hand in hand with bodywork and doing specific exercises to strengthen and balance the body.  

    Every month we make adjustments to the fit.  There are general goals in terms of building muscle and maximizing leverage that we aim for.  Power, aerodynamics and comfort have to be carefully considered and balanced against each other.   We also make specific adjustments to the fit based on the athlete's goals. For example, a sprinter has different needs compared with a time trialist.  

      After a year of working together, and a multitude of adjustments back and forth, we are a lot closer to Inno's final position on the bike.  He still needs more Glute strength and flexibility in his Hamstrings, but he's come a long way.  

     I went out with Inno the other day to monitor his training session.  Going up Couser Canyon I was incredibly impressed with how much strength and fluidity he displayed.  It's a testament to all the work he's put in and the constant adjustments we've made over the months to get him to where he is now.  I am super stoked by the fact that he is riding pain free and can put out a lot of power in an aerodynamic position.    

     Looking back through my old blog posts, I found this:

"I am just getting started with my newest athlete, Innokenty.  He is dealing with lower back and hip pain that is the result of a weak core.  He also needs more Glute strength to be able to ride with power and strength in an aero position.  We've already made good progress.  His position will continue to evolve in the coming months.  I am excited to see where he'll be at come racing season."

I'd say things turned out pretty well.  Semper Porro.

  

Looking Back, Looking Forward

     Looking back on this past season, I can't help but smile at how much progress my athletes have made. Coming into the year I wasn't entirely sure what level of success to expect.  We had worked hard in the off-season, and each of my athletes had made substantial progress, but I wasn't sure how much that would translate into to success in races.  

     Backing up a little, I should explain that my goals and my process with my athletes is a little different from most coaches (yes coaches have goals too).  When I started coaching three years ago, my plan was to work with a select few athletes and develop them to the elite level with the goal of winning every major race in cycling - from the Tour de France to Paris Roubaix to the Olympics.  By keeping how many athletes I worked with to a minimum I would be able to give a high level of attention and energy to each individual. 

      My first step when I started coaching was to come up with a process that would operate at the level I was aiming for.  So, I began looking at performance from every direction I could think of - outside in, ground up, top down, and on and on.  When I was done brainstorming, I came up with a model for success that I believed would carry me forward.  Taking that initial concept I began applying it to whoever was willing to listen to what I had to say. I knew the concept was sound, but theory and practice are two completely different things.

       The first two years of coaching were solid, if unspectacular. The biggest challenge that I faced was belief - my athletes had to be constantly assured that we were on the right track.  While I was confident in the direction we were going in, I didn't fully believe in myself.  As I steadily amassed information and looked at power data though, it pointed to the fact that what we were doing would yield results.  By the end of the second season, the three athletes I coached had taken three wins.     

     A year ago, I started working with a new athlete - Innokenty Zavyalov.  After two years of coaching I was confident that I knew what I was doing.  What's more, I had a clearer idea of what I was looking for in an athlete - namely commitment and determination. Inno embodied the key things I was looking for, proving his commitment by making the huge step of moving from Minneapolis to San Diego to work with me.  I was excited to work with him because it offered the chance to start fresh with a new athlete who was one hundred percent committed to the Semper Porro process and philosophy.  

      After two years of laying the foundation for what was to come, I was ready for all the work we had done to show up in the results.   I pushed everyone hard during the off-season. More importantly, I kept people accountable. When the season started, Bryan Larsen lit things up in the early part of the season with several wins.  Erick Sobey quickly followed suit with a win of his own.  Inno steadily progressed through the spring, building his power and his experience.  Things came together for him at the Tour Of America's Dairyland where he took home two stage wins and the overall title. He followed that up with a long string of wins in the ensuing months pointing to the effectiveness of the Semper Porro Training process.

Innokenty Zavyalov

      Bryan, Erick, and Inno took home twenty wins this past season and countless podiums.  Now we're heading into the off-season with our sights set on an even better 2016.  The goal is not so much the quantity of wins, but quality. It's time to take things to the next level.  Semper Porro.
      

  

Bryan Larsen and Erick Sobey