Everything Matters

Brad Hudson's Targeted Training

Training the Brad Hudson way is both simple and complex.

Simple, because he categorizes all training into only two types: "Specific training for the goal event, and training to get the athlete to the point where he or she can do the specific training." All of this is aimed at a clear goal, which is "to change how long you can go at goal pace."

Complex, because Hudson is adamant that the details of training are different for every person, and different for each person at different times. "One thing I want to make sure I’m clear on is that there are no absolutes," he states. "The one thing you do know is that everyone is different. The biggest mistake is to stick to a formula, or a schedule." He repeatedly stresses that the training he gives all his athletes is "very individual . . . I try to see what the athletes need, rather than follow a schedule."

Hudson often reviles training schedules (thus you won’t find one in this article). "I don’t really believe in writing schedules," he says. "It never really works; it never comes out." He criticizes the trend toward simplifying training to fit everyone: "Coaches are too much into science and periods, [They] try to come up with a magic formula." He would even object to the phrase "training the Brad Hudson way" in the opening line of this article. "Too many people follow the system of one person," he believes. "They say, ‘this guy had great results, let’s follow him,’ but it could be completely incorrect for you. The truth is, I believe in nothing. I believe in everything and nothing. Because you realize it all criss-crosses over into everything—you have to have everything."

Despite his dislike of being codified, and the difficulty in doing so due to the diversity of his ideas, a number of themes emerge from his advice that provide, if not a plan, a "direction for training," in his terminology.