Training and the 80-20 rule of Pareto’s Principle

November 20, 2008 by Jimson Lee

Last month, I wrote about the Plan-Do-Check-Act components of the Deming Cycle.

Another theoretical concept that applies to training is the 80-20 rule of Pareto’s Principle. This is not to be confused with the Law of Diminishing Returns.

The 80/20 Rule is a general rule of thumb, or as I call it, a “guesstimate”. It may be 70/30 or 85/15. The basic concept is a small quantity of X results in a large quantity of Y.

Who the heck is Pareto?

In 1895, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed something very interesting while studying the distribution of wealth in his country, as well as every other country he studied. 80% of all the land was owned by only 20% of the population!

Surprisingly, within the next 50 years, this particular distribution was emerging in other aspects of life.

Dr. Joseph Juran, a professional quality management expert working in the US in the 1930s and 40s (but not as famous as Edward Deming) recognized the above principle. He was quoted “the vital few and trivial many”.

Dr. Juran’s observed only 20 percent of “something” is responsible for a massive 80 percent of the “results”. This became known as the 80/20 Rule, or Pareto’s Principle.

Basically, Pareto’s Principle indicates that in any situation, only some (20 percent) are critical and many (80 percent) are insignificant. In the 80/20 rule, the input and output relationships are not balanced.

While Pareto’s observed the 80/20 ratio for land possessions, Juran’s case observed 80 percent of all problems were caused by 20 percent of manufacturing defects.

You see, you can apply Pareto’s Principle to almost anything.

Do you own a house? The same applies to simple things like those repair jobs and renovations around the house. Using Pareto’s Principle, in your list of ten to-do items, only two will prove to be worth at least as much (if not more) than the other eight projects.

What the heck does this have to do with Track and Field Training?

Out of all the training elements in your day to day training regiment, there should be really 2 out of the 10 elements you should be focusing on. For a Masters Sprinter, in my opinion, speed training and recovery & regeneration are your biggest 2 things to focus on for maximal results.

I’m not say NOT to do weights, yoga or Pilates. I’m not saying continue eating fast food and don’t take your supplements either; there are just some elements that will produce better results in the long run, and in this case, it’s PERFORMANCE that you want!

A lot of athletes focus too much on the little things, when at the end of the day, your training and recovery will result in the best performance. Everything else is important, but not as significant.

A Modern Day Example with Harvard University

Harvard University announced recently that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition. In making the announcement, Harvard’s president Lawrence H. Summers said, “When only 10 percent of the students in Elite higher education come from families in lower half of the income distribution, we are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite higher education to the lower half of the income distribution.”

So in this case of Elite higher education, they want to change their current 90/10 rule to be more like the 80/20 rule!

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 USD a year with an honor student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to pay the tuition. This prestigious University recently announced that from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to Harvard for free… no tuition and no student loans! Wow!

To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families making less than $60,000 a year visit Harvard’s financial aid website at: http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu or call the school’s financial aid office at (617) 495-1581.
Complete Speed Training

Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under Coaching, Recovery, Training, Witty 


UK Training in Sports Hypnosis for Hypnotherapists

November 19, 2008 by Jimson Lee

Certificate in Sports Hypnosis

Presented by Gary Baker
Director, The Centre for Sports Hypnosis
London, United Kingdom

Starts: Friday January 30, 2009, 09:00AM
Ends: Saturday January 31, 2009, 05:00PM
Event Type: Training / Seminar
Location: The Centre for Sports Hypnosis, Greater London, GB
Price: £245 - £295
Website: http://www.sportshypnosis.org.uk
Related Keywords: Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Hypnotist, Hypnotherapist
Intended For: Qualified Hypnotherapists
Organization: The Centre For Sports Hypnosis

This 2-day post-qualifying CSH Certificate course provides foundation level training in sports psychology and sports hypnosis for qualified hypnotherapists. The course is an even mixture of theory and practice, and plenty of opportunities are provided to practice various techniques. Assessment is by a short examination which you complete at home after the course.

The Certificate in Sports Hypnosis (Cert.SportsHyp) covers:

  • History of Sports Hypnosis
  • Assessments & case formulation
  • Sports psychology theory
  • Sports psychology interventions
  • Integrating hypnosis into sports psychology
  • Case Studies
  • Practical applications

For more information and to book your place, please see http://www.sportshypnosis.org.uk/training.html

About Sports Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been used in sport for at least the last 50 years, and has recently seen a renewed interest from both the research community and sports participants. Numerous well-known sports people have used hypnosis in the past, including boxers Frank Bruno, Steve Collins and Nigel Benn, former England cricket captain Mike Brearley, 400 meter sprinter Iwan Thomas, and golfer Ian Woosnam.

Sports Hypnosis combines hypnosis with traditional sports psychology to assist with many common sporting psychological problems. It is particularly effective for building confidence, overcoming poor past performances, and visualizing new or complicated techniques.

In addition hypnosis is highly effective when used to augment other psychological interventions for anxiety, motivation, mental blocks and competition preparation. Sports Hypnosis is now widely used in many sports to help both professional and amateur sportsmen and women with their mental training.

Sports Hypnosis is particularly effective for:

  • Competition Nerves
  • Mental Blocks
  • Overcoming Slumps in Performance
  • Building Confidence
  • Improving Focus & Concentration
  • Returning from Injury

Complete Speed Training

Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under Events & Conferences, Sport Psychology, Success 


PODCAST - 400 meter Training with Iwan Thomas

November 18, 2008 by Jimson Lee

Iwan Thomas is the current UK record holder at 400 meters with a time of 44.36 seconds. His best year was definitely 1998 where he won the gold at all 3 major “championship meets” that year, notably the IAAF World Cup, European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

He also won a silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics 4×400 m relay, and 1997 World Championships 4×400 m relay in Athens.

In Athens, the UK team finished second by 0.18 seconds to the United States in a closely contested battle where the Americans usually annihilate the rest of the world.

However, in 2008, US team member Antonio Pettigrew, who ran the second leg of the final, admitted to steriod use. As of 2008, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) statute of limitations for retroactive changes is eight years after the event. Pettigrew has since returned his medals, but the UK squad has not moved up a notch to the Gold.

iwan-thomas-400-meters.jpg

Anyways…

In this podcast, he goes in detail about his training methods, speed, speed endurance, and focus. The UK concept of teamwork and unity is clearly shown in their approach to the 4×400 meter team relay.

It’s always interesting to see how world class quarter milers train and race, from weight training to race strategy.

His official website is www.iwanthomas.co.uk

The Canadian Athletics Coaching Center has a wealth of free coaching articles. Click here for a complete listing of their downloadable audio files.

PODCAST Info:

 
icon for podpress  400 meter Training with Iwan Thomas [40:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
  • Iwan Thomas, MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire)
  • 400 meter British Record Holder and 4 x 400m Olympic Silver Medalist
  • Interview Date: October 20, 2006
  • Duration: 40:26 mins
  • File Size: 37MB

Written by Jimson Lee · Filed Under 400 meters, Coaching, Featured Story, Interviews, Track and Field 


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