Training in many sports takes place in the world of the individual

Each is unique and has their own personal strengths and weaknesses.

For that reason, one athlete may excel at one event and struggle with another. Similarly, the strength and weaknesses of a sprinter and a long-distance runner are different, and so are the strengths and weaknesses of a swimmer and a cyclist. Each sport is different from the perspective of the athlete, so as they train and compete there's a difference in the tools they need.

The same is true of strength training. There are different tools, different forms and different principles by which to train – but not everything works the same. They all work in different ways. Each sport and each athlete has its own individual rules and techniques. But the real question is which approach – individual or group – will work best for you and which sports do you find most interesting? My answer to that question, as with all things, is that it depends. For some people, it's cycling. For others, it's running.

For others still, it may be swimming or jumping rope. Each sport or each approach has its own individual merits and drawbacks. And as you get better, you tend to discover what feels right for you, what works and what doesn't for you. The idea of team science comes in because you've got to be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your fellow athletes.

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This leads me to the key principles of personal training and how it is used in a strength and conditioning department.
Principle 1: The key to good training is to know what the individual athlete most needs in terms of building mass and strength. Then you must combine this with the needs of the rest of the team, to build as much of the athlete's strength and bulk as possible.
Principle 2: If you're using the individual approach, then you must combine this with a team approach, the principles of which are the same as those given in section Four and which I describe at the start of this book.
Principle 3: The key to a successful strength program, even a small one, is to provide all the individual needs, with a focus on the big picture.
Principle 4: Every sport, every athlete is different, and there's no such thing as a recipe to train for any sport, so you have to use your own experience and what you've learned from others.
Principle 5: If you train a large number of people, then you should train large numbers of people but avoid the crowds.