The Perfect Set-Up

With this blog article, I want to take the pressure off, that athletic performance depends mostly on the resources - it doesn´t!

It depends on how the resources are getting used!

For example, having the perfect training log doesn´t make anyone faster, jump higher, or be skilled in sports specifics. Using the log properly on the other hand helps athletic performance. If it would not help, all those logging options wouldn´t exist. But next time you want to optimize your training log, please ask yourself if this will make a difference in your performance. The answer can be yes, but it also can be, that your focus is shifted to a “shine object,” away from the things that matter more. I am not saying we should not care about the training log. It is important to track training sessions but it may not need the latest software to do so but one which works just fine for your needs.

Other, more obvious resources are training facilities. For learning to swim fast there has to be a pool or other access to water, to learn how to play tennis, a tennis court would be critical. Is it nice to have a high-end facility to play specific sports, but could we have swimming sessions in a pool not as updated and play tennis on a basic court? Probably. The point I want to make is, that as long as an athlete can have quality training sessions, the venue offers everything needed for that session.

Throughout my career, I went to different venues and places to train. At some of those places, I thought about how great I would perform if I would live there year-round. Which is totally silly, because I was living and training in Oberhof/ GER, a place where you can find nearly all the training options a nordic athlete needs. That´s why thinking training somewhere else would have an effect might not be true - as it was in my case. 

I also want to make the point, that I didn´t necessarily was looking for how fancy a training facility was looking, but what options I would have in general to complete quality training. That´s why sometimes an awesome venue, is not all what it needs. And some venues and training areas can be wonderful, but only for a limited time.

So in general I had the perfect setup, but I was not the only one. And on my team were other athletes, who had a different training facility and also made it to the top of our sport Biathlon. This shows there is not just one set-up that supports athletic success and athletic success is not guaranteed by training at a certain facility. Of course, athletes want to train at places, which offer the key elements of what they need for sport-specific performance, but that´s just half of the game.

Next time you think a certain resource would make you a better athlete, think again. If this is true, it might be worth planning a move at some point, if not, enjoy your session and the outcome of it. Because now you know why a resource alone doesn´t do it, but athletes still need to use it.

Do you have a Dream? Keep going towards it :)