News and Updates

Well it has been a while since I have updated this blog. During that time I have pulled back and focused on "what coaching is all about and how best to achieve results". In that process I was able re-connect with Marc Becker, Head Coach for www.ironguides.net whom I have known for a very long time. Then in the last few months I have started working with the ironguides team to develop training programs for athletes that do provide proven results.

This next piece are some thoughts based on past coaching and my new direction:
During the past 18 months I have started developing more of my training programs based on The Method principles of training. When I first started coaching in 1992, I relied heavily on the intuitive aspect of training since there were not many tools available at that time other than the Heart Rate Monitor (HRM). Looking back, I found that in those early years the athletes were more "connected" to what they were doing in their specific training sessions. They made the connection by relying more on feeling the effort level at which they were training, and applied this to their racing as well. In discussions I had with Dave Scott and Mark Allen and other top athletes of their generation, they mentioned that they never had access to all the tools used today to collect and monitor data -- the mental connection to training and how it allowed them to race all out over all distances was key to their success. In my many years of coaching I have always focused on a few key points that consistently brought success to all levels of athletes I work with:
1. Stride rate and foot contact with the ground to make running off the bike more efficient2. An "ideal" cadence on the bike in the upper 70's and no higher then the low 80's. This allows the athlete to run far more effectively off the bike by focusing on a higher stride rate. Expecting athletes to ride at 88+ for for long periods of time and then running at 90+ is too much for the neuromuscular system to handle. These two points seemed to always be the opposite of what so many other coaches suggested. Until one day many months ago Marc sent me some information to review about The Method, the coaching approach he was fine-tuning at ironguides. Reading it, so many pieces of how and why I developed my approach to training programs were finally validated. This motivated me to further study The Method and begin to adopt the principles more in all of my coaching. Eventually this led to working more with Marc Becker and eventually joining forces with ironguides. Something that started about six years ago as we would check in on what the other was doing now and then has come full circle to our new partnership dedicated to bring The Method approach to triathlon training to Age Group triathletes everywhere. In my coaching today, I continue to draw on my experience and degree in Sports Medicine, diploma work in Sports Nutrition, and my current study of Sports-specific Strength Training. By aligning these with the principles of The Method, my athletes have shown marked improvement and a higher level of success as competitors and more confidence as individuals in their day to day lives..

So please take the time to check out the website www.ironguides.net and see what we are all about.

Thank You-
Steve Fluet