Improve Performance by Doing Less and Weekly Training

This is a topic that I have discussed before and I’m sure I will again. One of the biggest enemies of progress in athletes is overtraining, a.k.a adrenal fatigue. To understand this we must first understand the three basic things we need in order to make adaptation or improved performance, whatever the goal may be (its actually the same thing):

1. Training/Stimulus
2. Nutrition
3. Rest/Recovery

If one of these is out of balance, progress will halt and, quite often, reverse or deteriorate. Can a person train for a couple of hours a day 6 or 7 days a week and improve? Sure, as long as the nutrition and recovery are in balance…they may have to sleep 12 hours a day and triple their caloric intake…but it could be done.

Our bodies respond to stress by making adaptations. They need adequate rest and building material (food) to do this. The trick is stressing it just long enough and with enough intensity to signal a hormonal response and then give it the rest and nutrition it needs to support the change. There is no “one size fits all” regarding this. It requires some experience, planning and common sense (which is usually the ingredient that is missing ) or simply knowing someone or a coach who is smarter than you and getting them to help. If the stress is not intense enough, we are just spinning our wheels. If it is too much, progress stalls or reverses, injuries occur and we feel like crap.

The human body has adapted very well to dealing with acute stress (short-term) but is not good at dealing with chronic stress. Acute stress can be things like training and emergency or life threatening situations. This is the primary type of stress that we, as humans, have been exposed to for most of our existence. Chronic stress is relatively new to humans. This type of stress comes from busy lifestyles, anxiety, not enough sleep, too many stimulants or over training. If the timeline of human existence was 24 hours, then chronic stress has only been in that timeline for a couple of seconds…not enough time to adapt.

Unfortunately, most of us are exposed to chronic stress quite regularly. It is important to recognize and understand this so we can identify sources of chronic stress and work to reduce them.

So what is the problem with chronic stress??? In a word…cortisol. Cortisol is a glucocorticoid produced by our adrenal gland. Simply put, it’s a hormone released in response to stress that is responsible for the release of stored glucose. The problem is when we have too much cortisol too frequently, we “burn out” our adrenal gland, burn muscle, impair cognitive function and impair our immune system. Cortisol also inhibits sleep and not enough sleep increases cortisol production. Ugly cycle huh? That is why it is so important to get cortisol under control…because if you don’t, you will not get enough rest. This is a simple explanation of adrenal fatigue.

Far too often, I see folks with good intentions, that already have chronic stress issues, take too many “energy” supplements or drinks, which also release cortisol, and decide they are going to start working out to make some improvements and then wonder why it doesn’t work and wonder why they feel like crap. Usually, they fix it by training more, eating less and taking more energy boosters. See a problem here?

Folks, its not the training that will make you better, it’s the recovery that will. If you fall into this category, exercise should not be the priority, managing sources of chronic stress should be. Now some may argue that exercise can be a way to manage or control stress. In general, I would agree if the intensity is low enough…like a slow walk or jog. But if we are talking about exercise that elicits a physiological change, then that exercise is going to require a high degree of intensity and will not be successful at reducing stress.

I tell the folks I teach and train to remember two simple questions to ask themselves to help determine if they are overtraining:

1. How is your performance?
2. How do you feel?

If your performance is stalling or on reversing, then you are overtraining and need to take a break. Maybe for a couple of days or maybe a couple of weeks. If you feel like crap, yep you guessed it, you are overtraining. The cure for overtraining is really that simple: rest and good nutrition. Any good training program will have recovery or “off” periods programmed in.

The message here guys is to first identify sources of chronic stress and try to get them under control before embarking on a performance based training program. These sources may be:

• Not enough sleep….big one in law enforcement
• Too many stimulants…especially the energy drinks
• Anxiety…worrying about things you can’t change is a biggie
• Poor diet…too many high glycemic index carbs keep insulin up which, in turn, elevate cortisol
• Too much exercise

Know the signs of overtraining, recognize sources of chronic stress, be responsible enough to make fixing them a priority, train just enough to send the right signals to the body, provide the appropriate nutrition and give your body the time and rest it needs to make the changes. Yes, this requires planning, preparation and a little practice…and sometimes taking a vacation!

Another thing to consider is the experience level of the athlete. A novice will experience gains and progress quicker with less recovery time. An intermediate will not progress as quickly, and will have to allow more recovery time or program in some lighter intensity workouts. An advanced or Elite athlete requires even greater periods of high intensity followed by equally or longer periods of recovery…and so on and so on.

Knowing this, it is easy to see where most folks make the mistake of thinking since they made good progress in the beginning of their program that they can continue at that same pace and then wonder why their progress is stalling…or why they got hurt…or why they are tired and fell like crap…you get the idea. This basic principle of physiology is a pretty simple concept that many either just don’t know or can’t grasp.
Well know you know, and are ahead of most.
　

Next Weeks Strength training schedule for advanced athletes:Next week is the high intensity week of the myofibular growth phase of the strength program I’m on and those following.  All three working sets will be at 75% of max at 8-10 reps, as usual, every workout is preceded by a warmup.

Workout 1
Squat
Bench
Secondary lift-athletes choice

Workout 2
Push Press
Power Cleans
Secondary lift-athletes choice

Workout 3
Deadlift
Bench
Secondary lift-athletes choice

If you’re an intermediate athlete, workout 3 will be a “light” day. Rep ranges will stay the same but the weight used will be 65% of max.

If you are not following the strength program and are in a “maintenance” phase, then get atleast one heavy lifting day in and another day of sprint work. Something like 10x100m or 10x50m sprints. Try to follow the 1:3 rule. 3 seconds of rest for 1 second of work. So if a sprint takes you 15 seconds, rest 45 seconds before the next.

Here is a challenge for next month…make sleep a priority this week and get at least 8 hours per night. If you don’t get enough rest…..don’t train! You will actually feel better.