What grade do your training sessions get?

Time to head back to school.

What follows is my attempt to compile some of my thoughts from the past six months. These come from various research papers, podcasts, scribbles in notebooks and discussions with different athletes and coaches I come in contact with.

It all revolves around the concept of training quality. Which I think it is an overused and mis-understood term. It is used a lot in social media and online but what does quality training look like in the real world and how do you know if your training each day is quality?

Training is all about consistently layering session on top of each other to create an increase in performance over time. One training session does not make or break a performance but they do add up or subtract over time. This relates back to Consistent Consistency that I have talked about in the past (see video below).

Those who can consistently stack the highest quality training sessions on top of each other over time have the highest chance of improving their performance the most.

How are you showing up to training?

Bill Beswick a sport psych from the UK (He has a lot of great books and podcasts if you want to dig deeper) talks about how people show up to train and breaks it down the following way.

• Those that just ‘show up’

• Those that show up to ‘train’

• Those that show up and ‘train to compete’

• Those that show up and ‘train to win’

• Finally, those that show up and ‘train to dominate’

Have a think about these and how you show up to your training sessions.

What is training quality and intensity?

When people think of Bill’s training levels the first thing that jumps to mind is their training intensity, how HARD they train and that training harder is by default is better. This is not always the case.

Training Intensity ≠ Training Quality

Different training has different goals and outcomes.

Here are some excerpts from an insightful research paper: Training Session Models in Endurance Sports: A Norwegian Perspective on Best Practice Recommendations.

• The best Norwegian endurance athletes (who are also rank amongst the best in the world) generally perform ‘more voluminous, more controlled and less exhaustive’ training than is often reported by others. What stands out to me in that extract are the words ‘controlled’ and ‘less exhaustive’

• ‘Quality is not synonymous with intensity’

  
  

• Instead ‘training quality is defined as the degree of excellence related to how the training sessions are executed to optimise adaptations and/ or to improve overall performance)

  
  

• Intensity discipline is the Hallmark of an elite athlete. They know when to push hard and when to dial it back to an aerobic intensity. They not only know but they have the discipline to go easy/ slow/ steady on those aerobic days so they can go hard when they need to.

These concepts link nicely into a podcast with New Zealand kayak coach Gordon Walker (If you have not done so already it is a worthwhile listen) where he gave some nice real-world examples of these things in action.

A few key things I liked in this podcast that link with these concepts were.

• Gold medal behaviours. You need to act like a Gold Medallist before you get to be a gold medallist. This crossed into how you approach your training and everyday life.

• The plan is good, but HOW you do the training IS the difference

Training intent

This brings me to the last concept of training intent.

• Training intensity = the physical effort

  
  

• Training intent = the mental effort or focus (the HOW you approach the training session)

‘The intent of an individual during training maybe the biggest contributing factors to change’ - Alex Wolf

 All of these concepts led me to create the concept of a Training Execution Scale to help you identify

1) what quality training looks like in the real world and

2) where you can improve with your training execution.

Training Execution Scale

Below are some of the key behaviors and actions required to maximise training quality. Remembering that HOW you do the training IS the difference

A — Optimal Execution

“What was on the plan was executed with precision and intent.”

Pre-Training

✅ Fuelled correctly: timing, composition

✅ Slept adequately (7–9 hrs, good quality)

✅ Clear understanding of session intensity and intent

✅ Route/terrain chosen intentionally to match session goals

✅ Mentally focused and present (no doom scrolling before or with-in session)

✅ Gear checked, charged, functional, and appropriate

✅ Pre-activation/warm-up completed intentionally

During Training

✅ Session executed with full intent and intensity discipline

✅ Nutrition/hydration matched to session demands

✅ Session adjusted intelligently based on feedback from body

✅ Technical/tactical elements practiced if applicable

Post-Training

✅ Recovery nutrition/hydration within 30 min

✅ Training data uploaded for monitoring, review and feedback

✅ Mental and physical recovery addressed

✅ Equipment cleaned, charged and prepared for next use

✅ Adaptation Likelihood: Very High

B — Solid Execution

“The core purpose was achieved but some details could be improved.”

• Mostly fuelled and rested, but minor timing or prep errors

• Route or terrain not perfect for session but still suitable

• Maintained intensity discipline and intent

• Delay in post-session nutrition or didn’t upload data

✅ Adaptation Likelihood: High

C— Adequate Execution

“Session was done but lacked preparation intent or precision.”

⚠️ Session completed but was under fuelled or rested going in

⚠️ Running late or unorganised, forgot HR strap or watch died half way

⚠️ Route or terrain selection not ideal- i.e. ran out of hill during interval

⚠️ Some distraction or low focus

⚠️ Intensity drifted or not well controlled

⚠️ Delayed or missed recovery nutrition

⚠️ Adaptation Likelihood: Moderate

Will still get some physical benefit, but less likely to build consistency or long-term gains

D — Poor Execution

“Session got done, but not in a way that supports growth.”

🚫 No real prep, rushed start, distracted

🚫 Under-fuelled and under-recovered going in

🚫 Terrain unsuitable for training goals

🚫 Not dressed for the conditions or Di2 battery flat

🚫 No clear idea of session purpose

🚫 No intensity discipline; just went with the flow or joined in with someone else's session

🚫 No recovery nutrition

🚫 Adaptation Likelihood: Low or Negative

Unlikely to stimulate the desired adaptation + increased risk of illness or injury

How to use this scale

• At the end of each session, rate your execution using the above guidelines

• Reflect on what you could improve on in your next session

• Aim to keep 80%+ of your key sessions at A or B

Progress over perfection

It is not about being ‘perfect’ in every session but it is about identifying where you can make progress in your session execution.

Need more help with your training?

Check out these different

• Training plan options

• Personalised coaching options

• Ebooks

• Podcast episodes