We all have underlying forms of motivation that drive us to take action, to help us conquer the day and to be better than we were yesterday. It’s as if we are conditioned to believe that we are the focal point of a popular sports drink or sporting apparel commercial.
You know… rub the sweat from your eyes, grind out the next set, scream and yell during some “finisher” until you are completely exhausted and fall to the ground surrounded by your sweat angel.
All in life is great, we “slayed the dragon”!
And that is how we measure the success of the training session. Or should I say that is how we are “conditioned” to measure the success of the training session.
I hate to break it to you… but this couldn’t be further from the truth. And regardless of your age and training experience, this is quite possibly the greatest contribution to injury, lack of progress and mental fatigue.
We live in a day and age of more…. you know more.. keep adding more. More weight, more reps, more days of training etc. And this simple formula of addition will force you to crumble down into stagnation.
Some people have asked me, “how do I know”? Well, I’m living proof and have been biohacking myself for years trying to determine the best “cause and effect” protocols for training to implement and share with others. I have slayed many dragons over the years.
This past September, my friend Joe Divosevic of M.A.C. Gym and I filmed a short video on delayed onset muscle soreness, and rebutted the notion that the general population and athletes utilize of D.O.M.s as a marker for training success.
Remember the human body’s primary goal is survival, it wants to recover. And it’s vital that you assist in that recovery.
We are all layered with movement dysfunction, and to simply keep pressing forward because it’s what the commercial says to do, will lead to lack of recovery and greater dysfunction. The high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that you keep pushing through leads to just making you tired and seeing very little improvements.
You must make a shift and place emphasis on repairing the body. There are many modalities that can / will assist in recovery from life and training.
In the near future I will share and review some of the options that I have made use of and their effectiveness for me.
In the mean time…. there are no dragons and you are not on a commercial. It is NOT good to feel exhausted after a workout. These are symptoms that will lead to regression.
– Coach Shawn
