Coaches and athletes love systems. Especially ones with a name, a...
Dan Cleather | Strength and Conditioning@dr_jump_uk
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Nov 16, 2025
~2 min read
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1
Coaches and athletes love systems.
Especially ones with a name, a spreadsheet, and a promise.
They make training feel knowable.
Follow the plan, get the outcome.
It’s comforting.
Even if it’s not always true.
Especially ones with a name, a spreadsheet, and a promise.
They make training feel knowable.
Follow the plan, get the outcome.
It’s comforting.
Even if it’s not always true.
2
Magical rep schemes.
National “methods” treated like flags.
Bar speed, HRV, training zones…
The names change. The appeal stays the same.
Systems turn chaos into certainty —
at least on paper.
National “methods” treated like flags.
Bar speed, HRV, training zones…
The names change. The appeal stays the same.
Systems turn chaos into certainty —
at least on paper.
3
But here’s the thing:
The best athletes thrive under wildly different — even contradictory — approaches.
So maybe the system isn’t the source of the magic.
The best athletes thrive under wildly different — even contradictory — approaches.
So maybe the system isn’t the source of the magic.
4
And even great systems don’t travel well.
Westside worked in a gym that was heavy, loud, and confrontational.
Drop it into a quiet university weight room and the power disappears.
Context matters.
Culture matters.
Westside worked in a gym that was heavy, loud, and confrontational.
Drop it into a quiet university weight room and the power disappears.
Context matters.
Culture matters.
5
Trying to copy a method without its environment
is like following a recipe but ignoring the ingredients.
What worked in one world becomes imitation in another.
Every system works somewhere.
None work everywhere.
is like following a recipe but ignoring the ingredients.
What worked in one world becomes imitation in another.
Every system works somewhere.
None work everywhere.
6
Still — systems are useful.
They help turn ideas into action.
But they become ideology when treated as sacred.
“It’s not a system, it’s a philosophy.”
Which usually means:
It’s definitely a system — just with better branding.
They help turn ideas into action.
But they become ideology when treated as sacred.
“It’s not a system, it’s a philosophy.”
Which usually means:
It’s definitely a system — just with better branding.
7
What makes a system work isn’t magic.
It’s the principles underneath —
the grammar behind the methods.
And that grammar is physiological.
Not personal.
It’s the principles underneath —
the grammar behind the methods.
And that grammar is physiological.
Not personal.
8
At the heart of it are two ideas:
🧠 Discovery & refinement (how we build skill)
💪 Progressive overload (how we build capacity)
Most of training can be traced back to one — or both.
🧠 Discovery & refinement (how we build skill)
💪 Progressive overload (how we build capacity)
Most of training can be traced back to one — or both.
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Progressive overload is simple:
Challenge the system → recover → adapt.
Repeat, progressively.
Too little = no change.
Too much = break.
The coach’s job is to hold that rhythm.
Stress and recovery in conversation.
Challenge the system → recover → adapt.
Repeat, progressively.
Too little = no change.
Too much = break.
The coach’s job is to hold that rhythm.
Stress and recovery in conversation.
10
Skill works differently.
Think of a pianist repeating a tricky passage.
Not to failure — to fluency.
They practise until it flows.
Progress through attention, not exhaustion.
Think of a pianist repeating a tricky passage.
Not to failure — to fluency.
They practise until it flows.
Progress through attention, not exhaustion.
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Coaching is about balancing these two forces:
Overload gives you horsepower.
Refinement gives you control.
Strength without skill is clumsy.
Skill without capacity is fragile.
Overload gives you horsepower.
Refinement gives you control.
Strength without skill is clumsy.
Skill without capacity is fragile.
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That’s why principles matter.
They let you adapt.
They allow judgment.
Systems demand obedience.
Principles give you freedom — with structure.
They let you adapt.
They allow judgment.
Systems demand obedience.
Principles give you freedom — with structure.
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Once you see training this way,
the hunt for the perfect system loses its urgency.
Principles don’t give you permission to do anything —
They give you a reason for doing something.
That’s when coaching becomes craft.
the hunt for the perfect system loses its urgency.
Principles don’t give you permission to do anything —
They give you a reason for doing something.
That’s when coaching becomes craft.
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The goal isn’t to find the right method and stick to it forever.
It’s to learn the grammar — and write your own style.
Training, like language, rewards those who listen carefully…
And keep rewriting the same sentence their whole career.
It’s to learn the grammar — and write your own style.
Training, like language, rewards those who listen carefully…
And keep rewriting the same sentence their whole career.
