Coaching Philosophy
High Altitude Training founder and head coach Chris Harry's coaching philosophy is one of a holistic approach in-which every aspect of the athlete and the athlete's life must be taken into account.
Everything that makes up the athlete plays a part in the overall "High Altitude Training Performance Model" (HAT PM). The HAT performance model was adapted from Dr. Howie Wenger's "performance gears", which basically states that if the athlete is to perform optimally, all of their gears must be managed, running smooth and efficiently in order to turn their central performance gear. We believe in the performance gear philosophy and have adapted it into our coaching style.
The HAT PM looks at and takes into account all of the interrelated factors (gears) that influence a persons performance (not all factors are listed).
- Skills
- Environment
- Emotions
- Psychology
- Physiology
- Regeneration
- Strategies
Without going into too much confusing detail (shown in the above illustration) : each one of those gears (which are performance factors) are rotating around the main "Optimum Performance" gear, each have a direct impact on the athletes performance. To break it down even further, each one of those key "performance factor gears" have several smaller sub-gears (sub-factors) that directly influence that particular performance factor gear (see illustration below). You can easily see how every little detail in one's life can effect their training and performance if just one gear is out-of-sync.
An easy example: with the athlete's environment, there are several factors that could have a direct impact on their performance. –The cold, heat or altitude could positively or negatively affect them.
Regeneration: how is your hydration? Are you well rested or did you not get enough sleep the night before a key workout? Each one of these sub-factors have a direct impact on your performance. These are just some minor examples of the HAT Performance Model that Coach Chris utilizes in working with you to maximize your training time and effort.
As you can see from the image below the main central gear is "Optimum Performance", it must turn smoothly and efficiently in order to produce optimal training and performance results for the athlete. The performance gear is driven and influenced by several smaller supporting gears (Emotion, Strategies, Skill, Psychology, etc.) Those sub-gears are then driven and influenced by several even smaller gears, as mentioned above.
If one of these gears are out of sync then the athletes performance is affected. It is important that the coach and athlete work closely together so they can identify any gears that might be out of sync and make corrections to improve the athletes performance.
As your coach I incorporate the HAT Performance Model philosophy as the main foundation when working with athletes. The weekly training plans, recovery / regeneration times, their various micro and macro training cycles and everything else are all built upon this successful holistic coaching approach.
I want you to be the best you can be, achieve your athletic potential and succeed in your goals.
-Coach Chris Harry