In the field of fitness and strength and conditioning we’ve all heard the phrase:
“You have to stimulate the muscle to grow, not destroy it.”
I can’t say I disagree with the sentiment, though I do think it’s a bit reductive, taken at face value. I mean, assuming one isn’t injured or has a history of injury, most people can train a lot harder than they give themselves credit for.
I’ve said it before and I have to say it again here:
“Weightlifting isn’t supposed to tickle.”
Furthermore, if you pick the brains of coaches like Alex Viada or Chad Wesley Smith, they would be the first to espouse the idea that must destroys muscles. Or, to be more fair: do more work. Or be even more fair: follow a carefully structured, periodic, undulating, (probably) concurrent plan that fluctuates the stress of training.
Photo by Greg Nuckols, courtesy of Andy Morgan’s website RippedBody.jp.
Those are big words for some people. To non-geeks we just mean: do more work, but not all the time…smartly.
Let me quote Pat Davidson:
“I’m a strength coach which means I’m a stress manager more than anything else. The only difference between me and your shrink is that I want to put as much stress on you as I can to see what you can survive. If it doesn’t kill you, it’ll probably make you stronger.”
That’s the most succinct way to describe things. Any strength coach worth his or her weight in barbells knows that most programs written (strength and performance oriented) should consist of alternating patterns of high pressure (be it accumulation, intensity, or both) with low pressure.
You can’t just take the word “kill” and apply that mantra 100% of the time and expect to make consistent progress. We are not Terminators. Fatigue will always hide one’s true fitness.
Not into charts? Me too. They make my head hurt.
Think of it this way: let’s say you tested your 1RM on the deadlift. 315! Not too shabby sexy beast. Now, run a 5K. Don’t ask questions, just do it.
When you’re done, we’ll immediately try the 1RM deadlift again.
Do you think you’ll smell close to 315 pounds again?
There is no chance.
Overtraining?
Fatigue does not mean overtraining. The internet loves to throw out the word overtraining as if it’s easy to achieve. Trust me: you are not overtrained. Just because you squatted two days in a row or, I don’t know, took a HyRox class, doesn’t mean you’re overtrained.
You really, really have to go (REALLY!) you can’t get remotely close to overtraining. To put things in perspective: James Lawrence’s Iron Cowboy was completed a few years ago 50 triathlons in 50 days (in 50 states) and was not overtrained. I’m sure he felt like shit, but he wasn’t overtrained.
That’s why I respect guys like Alex and Chad who prefer to challenge/push people to work harder (but smarter) and not be too analytical about everything. This is the only way to ensure adaptation and continuous progress (and PRs).
What does “smart” even mean, Tony?
Good question.
It can mean many things, but here are some quick, random ideas/points to consider:
1. You’re not an elite athlete (Sorry, not sorry)
I can’t remember where I read (but I promise I did), but someone decided they were going to go on a program where they would squat every day for two months. Heck, I remember when Chris Duffin, the psychopath that he is, decided that for one year of Squatober he would squat something like 800 pounds everyday for a month.
via GIPHY
I have no problem with squatting every day, or people who decide to actually do it. But, as I recall a few years ago, within 24-48 hours of the article going live, I received a flurry of emails from random guys asking me if they thought it would be a good idea if “they too?” do you have to work out everyday?
I had to try really hard to resist the urge to throw an ax at my face.
NEWSFLASH: you are not an elite athlete!!!!!!!
If you don’t have 4-6 hours a day to train, and that’s literally all you do, it probably won’t work for you.
Let’s be real: For many people (not all), you’ve read an amazing article and immediately decided it’s “just what you needed.”
In theory, it sounds amazing. But here’s the thing – you make the Tin Man look hyperactive. The last time you lifted anything explosively was back when Patrick Swayze was rocking stone jeans. And, last time I checked, you sit in front of a computer for 8-9 hours a day, and you work for a living.
When do you have time for that?
Listen, I get it, you love working out. Plus, who am I to say that people shouldn’t be enthusiastic about working out more often and moving around a bit more? I encourage it, wholeheartedly!
But come on people – let’s not put the cart before the horse.
Actually, scratch that. I’m not against training people (hard) daily. I mean, there’s definitely a way to do it right and I think that’s what a lot of people should try. They just shouldn’t be training balls to the wall (ovaries to the wall?) every day.
What I don’t agree with and think is borderline dangerous is when people read an article about ELITE athletes whose sole job is to train – and who have done this type of training FOR YEARS – and then run to the local gym, try to be a hero and hurt yourself on the third day.
Trust me – it will happen.
I swear, I’m going to do a social experiment someday, write an article describing how repeatedly running over your right arm with a car will somehow increase your testosterone levels by 317%, and see how many people email me asking for more information.
NOTE: I like what Bret Contreras had to say on the subject. HERE an old blog post he wrote about how to incorporate daily training into the mix.
2. Deadlift Less
Yes, you read that right. I just told my readership to deadlift less.
What’s next? Do I tell everyone to do more pull-ups with kicks? Do peptides cure everything? I admit that I had it all wrong and that Tracy Anderson was right all along: women must avoid lifting anything over 3 pounds. LOLz.
Relax. Deep breaths. Give me a second to explain.
Once you get to a certain level of strength (say 2x bodyweight) there is a point of diminishing returns relative to deadlifting more than once a week. I would argue that the deadlift is the most “draining” – both physiologically and neurologically – on the body compared to squatting, benching, etc.
Maybe it’s more anecdotal on my part, but I’ve found – through a lot of trial and error – that any time I deadlift (heavy) more than once a week my body hates me.
Also, I find this to be pretty accurate for most other people.
I often limit “max effort” work (85% + of 1RM) to once every 2-3 weeks for most people. Rarely will I have someone reach this level every week.
However, I will include more speed/technical work into the mix and usually don’t hesitate to apply it more than once a week. It might look something like this:
Day 1 – Deadlift Complex
Week 1: 4×4 (70%), one repetition every 15 seconds.
Week 2: 3×4 (75%), one rep every 15 seconds.
Week 3: 5×2 (80%), one repetition every 15 seconds.
Week 4: 3×3 (65%), one repetition every 15 seconds
Day 2 – Speed/technique work
Week 1: 8×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 2: 10×1 (60%), rest 30-45s.
Week 3: 12×1 (60%), rest 45-60 d.
Week 4: 6×1 (70%), rest 30-45s.
3. Include less mechanical loading
I feel that many exercisers miss the boat on using their own body weight as a load. Sometimes I like to include less “mechanical loading” in some programs (including mine) to prevent “nullification” and gain a lot of benefits.
I hit the big lifts really hard and I don’t necessarily have to force myself to further hate life with my accessories.
Try this:
Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats For Time
Week 1: 3 sets of 30s/leg (FML)
Week 2: 3 sets of 40s/leg (Severe, FML).
Week 3: 4 sets of 40/leg (Hahahaha).
Week 4: 3 sets of 60s/leg (Kelly Clarkson! Watch the clip below for the reference.)
If you really want to up the ante do the above, but a controlled pace up and down (2 seconds down, 2 seconds up, 3 seconds down, 3 seconds up).
4. Go for a walk
I’m not kidding at all.
Occasional walks do wonders for recovery. And you don’t need to carry that heavy backpack for walking or sledding uphill for the AMRAP Hybrid. Turn it down, killer.
Just walk. Enjoy it.
5. Unload (Volume)
At CSP, we generally “save” week 4 of each program for a deload week. For starters, it fits our training model well because each athlete/client gets a new program every month anyway (billing cycle is every four weeks).
While I don’t go out of my way to introduce too many new exercises with beginners – they don’t need a lot of variety – those who have been working with us for a while will usually pick up a bunch of “new stuff” and be kicked off their ass in week #1. The previous week’s unloading serves as a way to better “prepare” them for the onslaught that inevitably comes.
Generally speaking, a deload week we deload total volume and keep the intensity (as a percentage of one’s 1RM) high.
NOTE: not to jump too far into the weeds, but going back to the subject of overtraining, if one gets into that territory, it tends to be because of overtraining volume and not so much with intensity.
Therefore, we will either reduce the intensity with the MAIN LIFT of the day, but maintain the intensity:
Squat
Week 1: 5×5
Week 2: 4×5
Week 3: (5) 3×3, 2×6
Week 4: 3×3
Or we may reduce overall volume (tonnage) through reduced ancillary work.
And yes, sometimes, we’ll modify both the pitch and volume. It just depends (this is usually reserved for those in competitive season. Think: powerlifter).
There are many ways to “deload” – SKIP all axial loading for a week, maybe only work one body part, maybe cut your workout days from 4-6x a week to 3x a week, nothing over 70%, play kickball, I don’t care, you know your clients better than I do – but overall, I find volume reduction for most.
Your turn
The above is by no means an exhaustive list. I could go on, but I doubt many have made it that far anyway. If you have, 10 points to Gryffindor!
