When searching for the perfect workout program, it's natural to look up to the pros and try to emulate their approaches to nutrition, training, and recovery. After all, there's a lot to be learned from someone who's mastered your sport! While that may be true, certain aspects of elite training should not trickle down to novice and intermediate levels. Here's a few examples of how high level training is different and why you shouldn't copy the pros.
Endurance Sports: At the highest level of endurance sports, athletes typically break their training into very long training blocks with a distinct emphasis. For example, one might spend 6-8 months focusing exclusively on aerobic base building (zone 1-2) with little to no training done anywhere else. In the next block, the total volume of the high intensity work they put in can be frighteningly high, with seemingly herculean workouts (e.g. 25 x 400m or 10 x mile). Because the fitness level of these athletes is so high and they've already been exposed to large volumes of these particular stimuli in the past, it takes a very potent and focused approach to yield further improvements, so we see one aspect of their fitness take the stage while the rest of them are simply maintained in each phase. This type of extreme periodization has trickled down to lower levels of competition but is not the most effective way to train unless you've reached a point where it's necessary. A novice runner would benefit from more "complex" training, where we incorporate some strength, speed, and endurance at virtually all times (with more subtle variations), since the total stimulus needed in each category is low enough that they can all be developed simultaneously while laying a strong foundation for future development.
Strength & Power Sports: This particular example could apply to virtually any sport, but especially so in highly technical sports. When you watch an elite powerlifter deadlift, you're likely to see some "bad" technique, even at the world class level. Or, one of the best Olympic lifters of all time, Dmitry Klokov, allows his knees to cave in when clean & jerking 400+ pounds. However, just because powerlifters round their back and weightlifters have knee valgus does not mean we should be instructing our athletes to do so. These high level athletes have put thousands of hours into refining their technique, can and do lift the "right way" at times, but allow for small compensations to improve their leverage and gain a competitive edge. In order to break the rules, you must first learn them.
Physique Sports: Optimizing training details like volume, frequency, and rep ranges depends on the individual's training background (i.e. training age) and their unique physiology. Since type 2 muscle fibers have the greatest potential for growth, the sport of body building self-selects individuals with a higher proportion of fast twitch muscle fibers that respond better to higher intensities & lower volumes. On the other hand, someone from an endurance background looking to put on mass may get better results by targeting slow twitch hypertrophy in higher rep ranges. Similarly, the size of the muscle (more specifically, the surface area of the muscle cell relative to its volume) directly affects the ability of the muscle to recover. Since elite level physique athletes have larger muscles and have the ability to reach higher levels of fatigue and damage, their training frequency may need to be less than your average gym goer. With this in mind, a one body part routine (i.e. "bro split") is likely more effective for larger guys than for smaller athletes & females. Understanding your training age and muscle fiber type can help you dial these aspects of your program rather than sticking to rigid guidelines.
When comparing your training or your clients training to that of a professional, keep the following guidelines in mind:
You can't skip steps. Training should get increasingly specialized with time. Sport specific training at the expense of fundamental movement mastery will put a low ceiling on performance potential and increase injury risk. At the general population / entry level, this means a concurrent focus on stability, balance, & coordination along with general strength & metabolic conditioning is likely superior to overly specialized training blocks that you'll use in later stages of athletic development.
Your must learn all the rules before you can break them. If & when you do deviate from the rules, it should be on purpose, not because of an inability to hold to them. Intentional training in potentially injurious positions can be part of a bullet-proofing strategy, but this should not take priority over consistent practice within the limits of acceptable technique.
Training recommendations should be based on your fitness journey, not fitness level. Two people of the same fitness level will need a different approach for continued success depending on the path they took to their current ability. At the same time, a high level of fitness does not necessarily demand advanced training strategies. For example, a young endurance athlete with a stellar VO2 max does not need the same training as a more mature athlete who spent many years getting to the same fitness level.