The Rule of Six has been in the media a lot recently for reasons which are obviously apparent and don’t require anymore airtime at the moment.
But that got me thinking. Could we apply the Rule of Six to training and the world of sport. Six key principles, tenets, laws to live by so to speak.
The six I have listed here are by no means the the only things that are important. Nor are they in any heirarchical order. They are just the six that I have come to value the most and what I refer to the most in my own coaching. So here we go, The Hard & Smart Rule of Six.
1. consistency
If you can only do three sessions a week then do them well and most of all do them consistently. Ask any elite athlete and they will say that getting up, dressing up and showing up day in day out, month on month, year after year is one of the most important things when it comes to progress and growth.
2. specificity
Train for your event not someone else’s and train to your ability. A good coach will make sure your training is specific to you and your event and also the time of year. Don’t blindly copy someone else’s plan or routine. Their goals may be different, their ability may not match yours and who’s to say their way is the right way anyhow.
3. recovery
You can only benefit from training that you can recover from. Recovery comes in many forms: stretching, sleeping, post exercise nutrition, planned for deload weeks and even mindfulness. Recovery must be on your radar and must be part of your training.
4. strength
This is the one I go on about the most and the one I see athlete’s ignoring the most. It’s not about having big muscles or doing 500 press ups a day for 800 days. It’s about making your body strong and robust enough to absorb the training you’re doing without becoming injured. The fastest athletes are always the strongest ones.
5. overload
Recovery is important. But to make the recovery work, you have need to have worked hard enough in the first place. Your training needs to be progressive in nature so that your body can adapt to a higher level. You can’t goto your maximum all the time, but you do need to do it sometimes. It hurts - like really hurts but it is essential.
6. fun
Most people reading this will not be elite athletes getting paid to train and compete. So, with that in mind you need to have fun while indulging in what for most is a hobby. A hell of a good one - if not expensive sometimes - but a hobby nonetheless. You may not enjoy every session you do but you should still be enjoying the process, smiling after a session and loving what you’re doing. If you aren’t - change something.
So there you have it - The Rule of Six according to Hard & Smart. You may have your own that you live by or focus on one or two in particular. However, always have some values that you hold dear and make you want to get your kit on and get out there.