Training Hard vs Training Smart

For many people embarking the fitness journey, getting to the gym is the biggest problem and once in the gym, they often don’t know what to do. The most common thing I have experienced with people starting out is that enough is never enough. People want to go 6 times a week and each session they plan to do every single machine in the span of one hour or less or incorporate 50+ working sets. Whilst I am guilty of training like this in the past, a workload of such is simply unrealistic and unsustainable unless you are a professional athlete, enhanced or Russian. One has to remember that whilst fitness should be a core component of our lives, it shouldn’t be the only thing we expend energy for.

This problem is most likely going to occur with a beginner lifter who is transitioning into an intermediate lifter. They often still have the mindset of a beginner lifter, eager to do everything, however their bodies won’t be able to recover in the same way that a beginner would as they are lifting more weight and using their CNS more efficiently. As a result of not being able to fully recover for the next workout, they will constantly feel fatigued and without the needed rest, may result in overtraining and/or injury.

An easy solution to this problem is to have smart programming. For beginner lifters, programs such as starting strength by Mark Rippetoe or Mehdi’s 5x5 stronglifts program are a great place to start and as they progress they may look into programs such as The Texas Method or Billstar’s 5x5. These programs may or may not be suitable for the goals of individuals not looking to gain strength and have other goals in mind.

Lord Rippetoe beams upon you as you descend below parallel in the squat

In the end it’s fine to train hard, but train smart as well.

Be fit, be happy.