Chronic Intensity
Are you experiencing too much intensity?
If everything you do is at high intensity, where is your variety?
I used to coach group classes where consistently everyone would be so exhausted that they would drop to the floor, unable to form a complete sentence. I will no longer do that.
If every workout you do leaves you rolling around on the floor, is that variety? Or is it just different versions of the same thing?
Sure maybe there is variety in the movements that you do. But where is the variety in intensity?
You probably don’t need as much intensity as you think. Absolutely not every training session.
High level athletic teams don’t even constantly practice or train at high intensity. They have optional days. They have walk-throughs. They have film sessions. They have deload weeks. They even have rest days.
To make improvements in training we need to recover. If you aren’t feeling recovered from the previous day's training, you would probably benefit from reduced intensity. Especially your training is affecting other aspects of your life, like your mood, energy and sleep. And absolutely if your training is leaving you in pain.
You Get What You Tolerate
Are you too tolerant?
If you are consistently experiencing pain when working out this post may be for you.
You’ve been working out consistently for years. You love it, it's an important part of your life.
But there has always been a movement that has caused you pain.
Maybe it’s running, maybe it’s squatting, maybe it’s deadlifting.
You have always pushed through the pain. You’ve tried rest, you’ve tried ice, you’ve tried some exercises you found on youtube.
Nothing has been the solution.
So you continue on, tolerating the pain.
Eventually your pain tolerance even increases. But you are still in pain.
You need someone to ask some important questions.
Are you over-stressing your body?
Do you have some restrictions that could affect those painful movement patterns?
Are there factors outside of the gym that influence your pain?
These questions (and more) will lead to a better path towards solving your problem.
Training with a small amount of discomfort or pain can sometimes be appropriate. This is why I give specific pain tolerance directions for my clients that are specific to the issue we are trying to solve. Sometimes it’s below a 4/10 for perceived pain. Other times it could be to move in 100% pain free ranges of motion.
But if we are only ever experiencing pain, with no positive changes, then we need to find a different path.
Stress Is Best
Is stress bad for you?
Is stress bad?
Stress is commonly associated with being a negative thing. But is it?
It’s fair for people to be confused with stress or to give it a negative association, as the definitions out there tend to be a bit confusing.
Definition 1 (Meriam Webster): a state resulting from a stress.
Well, that’s not helpful. Basically says “X is a result of X”.
Definition 2 (Meriam Webster): a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.
Well, that sounds awful. Disease causation sucks.
Definition 3 (Hans Selye): Stress is the nonspecific response of the body to any demand.
Now, this is more helpful.
Demand>Response>Stress
Stress is positive when we have a positive response.
Stress is the reason people get stronger, fitter, more resilient, and reduce the likelihood of injury or disease. That improvement came out of adapting to that stress.
Stress is also the reason people can become burnt out, injured or sick.
It’s a double-edged sword.
So how do we improve this?
Recover. Stress our bodies to levels that we are capable of recovering from. If we are not recovering we are not adapting to the stress. Results require adaptation.
Improve stress responses. When you are feeling elevated levels of stress, how do you respond? Does your heart rate increase? Does your breathing change? Do you get sad, angry, quiet, loud? Does your response match the situation? Sometimes we respond in ways that may not be favourable.
Adjust what you can. Sometimes we ask or are demanded too much. This may require asking for help.