Training Tip of the Week: Feelings
Knowledge bombs from Boston's favorite trainer
Training Tip of the Week
Train for an outcome - not a feeling
Have you ever done the same workout routine for weeks, months, or even years, and stick with it simply because you feel really good after each session? With that same routine have you noticed after a while you stop making progress even though it feels good to do in the moment? (Peloton riders I see your hands up!)
Or how about the feeling of being sore? Do you wake up and feel soreness in the right places and think “Wow what a great workout!” even though you haven’t gotten stronger in months?
Strength coach Mark Rippetoe describes the dichotomy between exercise and training “Exercise is physical activity for its own sake, a workout done for the effect it produces today. Training is done with a longer-term goal in mind, the constituent workouts of which are specifically designed to produce that goal.”
Most of us only exercise – we never truly train. There is nothing inherently wrong with this – exercise is fantastic and necessary for a healthy lifestyle. And of course, if the options are to simply exercise or do nothing at all, the choice is to exercise. For many, exercise is enough.
But I challenge you to take some time to think about why you’re exercising, what your actual goals are, and how you can accomplish them through training. This will require a shift in mindset from how working out makes you feel in the moment to how making progress makes you feel down the road.
Here’s a simple training progression if you’re stalled on progress:
- Pick a few compound exercises specific to your goals (Squats, Deadlifts, Lunges, Presses, Pull Ups) anything that involves multiple joints or muscle groups.
- Do 4 sets of each exercise with a load you can perform for about 10 reps.
- Once you can perform 12 reps with that same weight, increase the load slightly. (Make sure you can get at least 8 reps with the new load.)
- Once you can perform 12 reps increase the weight again.
- Rinse and Repeat
That's training for an outcome.
Don’t train just to feel good. Feelings are fleeting. What will keep you training is the gradual improvement from week to week, month to month, year to year. And that’s what produces the results you’re looking for – not feelings.
Train Hard,
Coach
Subscribe to my newsletter and/or book a consultation with me.
Love Working with Coach Camm? Let the world know by leaving a review here.
