Harder Training Isn't Better Training
Wrecking yourself in the gym has become a badge of honor. I’m sick of seeing motivational infographics telling us to push past our limits every day. That’s an ignorant recipe for disaster.
Training should not crush you. You should not be completely exhausted after every workout. You should not dread every workout. You should not need large quantities of pre-workout to get motivated or make it through.
If any of these things describe you, re-evaluate your training. Are you making objective progress toward your goals? Or are you just chasing the feeling of being tired and “paying the man?”
Training is a push and pull between stressing the body and your body adapting to the stress. Think of your training as a “dose” of stress. Too little or too high of a dose, and bad things happen, just like dosing medication.
You can’t keep piling on stress after stress and not expect something to break eventually. You may train to your limit every workout, but what good does that do when you get hurt in a month, 6 months, or a year? Then you’re forced to take time off and end up right back where you started. Even worse, you might not get hurt, but you may quit training altogether because it’s just too much to keep up with.
Use the minimum effective dose of training that will move you toward the result you want and stop there. You don’t have to wreck yourself to make progress.
Long term consistency beats short term gains EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
Is there a time and place for pushing yourself to the limit? Sure. It’s in competition, or at work when lives are on the line. But how do you expect to be able to push when it counts if your training constantly leaves you completely drained and exhausted?
Train to be better tomorrow, not exhausted today.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me