A couple of years ago I was asked what my training philosophy was, I fumbled around for a while plucking phrases and words out of the air and managed to give a half decent answer. That question, and my half arsed attempt to answer it, made me sit down and think about what I really believe to be the foundations of my training philiosophy. After numerous attempts I came up with the following (by the way, I didn't actually write thou shalt, that sounds a bit pompous doesn't it. It just fits nicely with the title. Work with me on this one!!!!).
EVERYONE SHOULD TRAIN LIKE AN ATHLETE
1. Thou shalt strive for quality of movement before quantity
2. Thou shalt use exercises that develop multi-dimensional movements not muscles
3. Thou shalt embraced bodyweight and free weights
4. Thou shalt use ground based - 'Big Bang' exercises - compound multiple joint (unilateral and bilateral)
5. Thou shalt train functionally (biomechanics, metabolic, force velocity curve - combination)
6. Thou shalt use high Intensity interval based cardio
7. Thou shalt make every session time efficient (short training sessions)
8. Thou shalt maintain continuity - programmes not workouts
9. Thou shalt train with Intensity
10. Thou shalt recognise the importance of Invisible Training
These ten points are pretty much the foundation of everything that I do and are why I firmly believe that everyone should be able to train like an athlete. It's taken me more than a decade of coaching to come up with them and I've been heavily influenced by the coaches and athletes that I've worked with. I will often use different tools to get the job done but only if they fit with my overall training philosophy. Everyone Should Train Like An Athlete.
I would encourage you to think about what the key principles are that you follow when developing a programme. Once you have a philosophy everything else falls into place and you are less likely to be one of those coaches that constantly switches training styles or follows gurus. You know the ones I mean, you walk in and one week everyone is flipping tyres, the next week kettlebells are being swung around all over the place, the next week everyone is doing Zumba....OK, maybe they're not all doing Zumba!
Go on, develop a training philosophy..