How to Not Get Wrecked in Your Workouts
Ah, the inevitable connection between pushing yourself to the complete limit, getting competitive with those around you, and trying to see just how many reps you can squeeze in…
…following a big gap (aka 6 months since you stepped in a gym)…and trying to just get some consistency going.
Next day. Wrecked.
One of the most common trends in this space is chasing all or nothing, seeking more and more difficulty, or altogether feeling as if the only way to future success is via high intensity, muscle burn, and heart rate spikes.
But, there are 5 things to consider about your workouts that can actually create sustainable change, a body that feels good instead of beat up, and still trigger that loved dopamine kick to keep you coming back for more.
Long Game: Completing three months of workouts with the consistency you want at lower intensities vs completing a couple workouts and stopping due to high intensities.
Person A: Shows up super excited to workout. Wants to change the world and their body on day one. Ignores all feel for the body and goes extra reps, extra time and tries to tap out on nearly every movement, especially conditioning. Two weeks later, after a week of not showing up: “I don’t know, it’s just hard to get motivated to get there, and my shoulder is feeling super cranky.”
Person B: Shows up super excited to workout. Wants to change the world and their body…but is ok with developing the framework they need building the stairs one by one. Three months goes by and they have hit 90% consistency: “I feel so good, I have never stuck with a workout routine this long. My body feels great and I have started seeing the scale move quite a bit lately!”
Stair-step approach: Picking the smallest stair you can climb to keep moving higher towards the level of fitness you want.
We talk a lot about building a foundational fitness framework that can set you up for long term success
But, once you have a foundation down, it's time to start venturing higher in your house of fitness, and you can do so by tackling the building of four different staircases.
Here is the thing about building these staircases. Build all of them at once, and you best have lots of tools, plenty of time, and at times, a team around you to ensure the staircase is solid. Don’t have those things around you?
Pick the smallest height stair you can possibly build.
Strength Training: 2x per week vs 3x per week. 30 minutes vs 60 minutes.
Daily Activity: Do one exercise each morning or a 5 minute walk each day vs committing to 7 days of activity
Eating Behaviors: Focus on moving snacks to your meals vs trying to count all macros from the start
Lifestyle Management: Go to sleep 15 minutes earlier vs trying to implement an entire morning routine
Finding your movement Tolerance: If chasing high intensities early, choosing progressions that let you execute a movement without difficulty is key.
I’ll keep it simple here. One of the biggest roadblocks to success in a routine is injury, pain, and staying consistent.
Nothing hampers consistency more than a painful shoulder, hip or back.
BUT, I know how good it feels to push hard and feel the burn…something that can be a big part of bringing you back for another go.
By choosing progressions that allow you to think less, operate in a movement easily, and add on reps without your joints and tendons taking the brunt of the decision…you can scale your workouts to higher intensities sooner.
Efficient Flexibility: For efficiency, use your accessory movements to improve range of motion, mobility, and control.
Listen, stretching can feel good.
Being flexible is great.
You know what very few of us have time for? Spending 30 minutes of every workout stretching.
Especially if your goals lean towards strength, fat loss, weight loss, or performance. By using your accessory movements to challenge yourself with better feel, increased skill, or larger ranges of motion you start gaining variability of movement and gain new ranges while getting STRONG in those range as well.
Here are three examples:
Order of operation: Chase feel first, repetition second, intensity third.
In the world of investing, starting by investing a large amount of your income in crypto probably isn’t wise.
Neither is starting week one of your workout program chasing everything at a level 10 intensity.
But, starting by first getting competency of the new movements you are learning, understanding where you hope to feel the movement, how it’s executed, and when you can progress it will set you up for the later weeks when you begin simply increasing the repetition of all the exercises you have gained competency in.
With greater competency comes the ability to generate higher intensities later on.
Akin to first learning the market, starting with some index fun, then venturing out to larger or more risky investments…progressing through your workout program, when done in a similar fashion can yield compounding results.
Bonus: Use conditioning protocols that allow you to push intensities with less complexity or joint stress. Aka, quit trying to use running from day one as your number one protocol for gaining endurance and chasing weight loss/fat loss.
Here are four alternatives (in the beginning) that may give you the ability to go harder, longer, and feel less joint stress the day after:
Assault Bike
Sled Pushes/Drags
Ski Erg
Rower
Ah, so there you have it my friend.
A checklist, so to say, of seeing just how well setup your first few weeks of program are.
Implementing even just one of these ideas will help change how you feel and progress in your program.
Enjoy.
