How often have you found yourself asking the question “should I get one of those?”, “that would be cool to help me go faster”, “he/she has got one of those, I better get one”. Don’t get me wrong, I ask myself the same questions often. I love training and I love numbers but I also believe that this can sometimes interfere with “simple things done well”.

The outcome of any performance plan should be to ensure that some specific aspects of performance are improved over a set period of time. What this specific outcome is depends on the athlete, the sport and the timeframe.

The use of technology, of gadgets and of toys needs to be carefully considered. Are you as an athlete better off investing in a Good, Better or Best training plan rather than a new bike computer that tells you how many meters you climbed? Are you better off investing in some sound nutrition advice and “nailing” your daily nutrient programme as opposed to getting the latest release of Zogg goggles?

The most successful athletes across sports, across codes, across disciplines are the ones that work hard, work smart and do all the little things well! Prep to train windows, injury prevention, rehabilitation, targeted energy system development, recovery processes, sleep, performance nutrition 24/7 etc are the BIG ROCKS of any programme intended to get results. Whether you are wearing the fastest wetsuit, the latest compression, the newest watch or bike computer with the most data…all becomes irrelevant if you haven’t got the BIG ROCKS in place.