Training Vs Testing: Why You Dont Need to be Killing Yourself Every Workout!
Its pretty common to think that more is better.
Or more specifically - harder is better…
That would be wrong by the way.
But we tend to think if were not rolling around on the floor close to death after a workout, we’ve left potential gains on the table.
It FEELS like we’ve done THE MOST!
No one is outworking us right?… Wrong big man… wrong.
Let me explain.
You need to train hard enough to produce adaptation, yes; in weightlifting thats usually 0-4 reps from failure. Some people often know this as ‘mild discomfort’, but thats totally down to interpretation.
For some its very uncomfortable!
But its also worth noting that failure is not literally being unable to move… its where the movement begins to break down…
Because beyond that, your body is no longer able to do what youre asking of it. And the result is poor movement and pushing beyond what youre body can safely manage…
Essentially, youve moved from decent stimulus, to poor stimulus, at the expense of a high training demand that costs your body a lot to recover from…
More effort : Less results
Its not always weightlifting either.
The same happens in cardio and conditioning too.
What most people are doing at the gym, is doing the most your body is capable of doing… but we call this ‘testing’.
But testing is not training.
If you push your limits and fail reps, or do bad reps - thats not helping you get stronger is it you big dafty.
You’re either missing out on good quality stimulus (because you failed reps), or you’re getting bad stimulus (because they were bad reps).
Its like paying more and more money (your energy), and getting less and less fuel in your car… (sound familiar!?).
Training should be building you up gradually. Even if that means you could have done a bit more.
EVEN… if it means you walk out the gym NOT having given everything youve got.
Shock, horror!
Because that means your body got good stimulus, youre able to really positively recover, and come back for more the next day!
Stacking sessions like that is the proverbial gravy that makes you fitter and stronger than those around you who go hard for a couple of months and then burn out and lose motivation…
or, as i keep seeing - smashing an event like Hyrox, and then just kind of giving up for a bit, before deciding they need another event to motivate them - (derogatory).
Now think about how you train…
At most gym classes, hyrox classes, bootcamps, circuits… its pretty much a case of max effort from start to finish…
And youre not getting the quality stimulus you actually need.
So, whats the alternative!?
Heres what we do…
We programme blocks of training that build up the amount you can handle first without pushing you to your limits.
We make what used to feel tough, feel easier.
We call this ‘Raising the Floor’.
Then because your body can handle more, we start gradually pushing you closer to what youre now more likely to be able to do. Step by step we build.
This gives your heart, lungs, muscles, tendons and ligaments time to build tolerance to higher loads and demands, and doesnt smash your central nervous system or take you from 0 to 100 so fast you hurt yourself.
Then, eventually… at the very end of the block… we finally TEST!
To see what your current ability is, and gain insight into your new current limits.
Stack quality sessions over time, not competitive all out efforts & you’ll be fitter and stronger than your peers and feel so much better for it.
If you train hard but feel like for the effort you put in, you should be fitter right!?
Or if youre just guessing; are you doing too much? Not enough? Even progressing?
Thats exactly where good personal training steps in.
Drop me a message or book a Free Intro by tapping the button below.
Comments