Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean it’s effective
One of the biggest misconceptions I have witnessed,
A concept people often embrace about what is helping their fitness is that you need you to feel crushed and destroyed…
And sore all over from a workout for it to have been an effective day at the gym.
#Wrong!
I often hear the panic in people’s voices when the conditioning of the day
“doesn’t look hard enough,”
Or complaints when it doesn’t appear as though the training session will get them huffing and puffing,
Sufficiently enough to leave them in a pool of sweat, unable to drive for 30 minutes.
On a similar note, I often hear people ask questions, such as:
“What is this doing? Where am I supposed to feel this?”
When, for example,
We’re putting them through a new movement—
Often things like a warm-up or activation drill
And they don’t feel every fibrous tissue in their body fighting for its life.
“Can we just workout already? I’m already warm. I ran three miles to get here,”
They complain as they go through the motions,
All the while not bothering to listen to the coach’s instructions…
About squeezing their butt cheeks together as hard as they can for two minutes.
Oddly, or perhaps not so oddly,
These same people are the ones who don’t ever seem to adhere to the lifting percentages
(cough, cough, you know who you are).
“50 percent of my 3 RM? But that’s so light!” they can be heard chirping from their squat rack before piling on an additional 20 lb.
Just some food for thought:
I could throw some bricks at you and you’d probably be pretty sore the next day, yet no more fit.
And on the flip side,
A two-minute deadbug or glute bridge might not make you feel like you just did Murph,
And certainly won’t result in DOMS the next day,
But it sure can go a long way in helping you prepare for a heavy squat session.
Both by getting you bracing properly and getting your glutes firing on all cylinders.
Here’s another analogy:
Let’s say you’re having chicken for dinner.
There are many ways to eat chicken,
But it’s safe to say plain chicken breast without any kind of seasoning or sauce is fairly boring…
And bland and probably isn’t going to get you all that stoked for dinner.
The point is,
I think it’s fair to suggest that it’s how you cook or season or spice or sauce-up the chicken…
That’s going to make or break the meal.
The same is true of your training program:
It’s the small things
- The warm-up drills
- The activation or mobility pieces,
- The accessory work
- And the technical and skill sessions
That are going to make all the difference to your main event.
They’re like the seasonings and sauces that will make your “chicken”
Aka your clean or snatch or muscle-up—shine brighter than before.
If that’s still not resonating with you, how about this one:
If you want to be successful, don’t confuse being busy with getting the right things done.
Have you ever worked for a boss who always seemed to focus on the wrong things?
Sure he may have logged long hours, but he never did seem to be prioritizing the right things.
Same goes for your fitness:
There might be a temptation to jack your heart rate up to a 190 bpm every day,
Or a desire to test yourself and max out whatever lift you’re doing any chance you get
Or blow off the percentages of the day because they seem too easy.
Trust me, I understand the urge.
Struggling is somehow rewarding emotionally.
But, often times the more effective session for your fitness and long-term development
Might just be a low-intensity skill session,
Where you fix a small technical flaw, which will then allow you to lift heavier when you do max out in three weeks.
So the next time you’re tempted to add 20 lb. to the barbell because the percentage seems too low,
Or you purposely show up late to avoid the boring warm-up,
Or you skip the cooldown because you can’t figure out what part of your body is supposed to be aching, reconsider!
In other words, take the time to season your chicken, folks!
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