Want to get better? Maybe faster, go further or for events to feel easier?
The secret isn’t only to focus on the training stimulus, instead consider the concept of “Training Yield.“
So what is this concept?
Rather than focus on the amount of training completed you are focusing on the maximum return from your training.
This may sound extremely obvious but reflect for a moment and consider if you really follow this pattern? Or how often you may compromise optimal training yield.
If we break down the 2 core constituents of this concept – it’s applying the right training stimulus AND supporting the body and mind to adapt from this stimulus. The combination of both is crucial.
Let’s go a bit deeper.
Stimulus:
- This is the application of some form of stressing that takes the body out of its usual balance.
- Fundamental on this is not simply going for maximum stress but applying the correct stress in intensity, duration and repetition.
- Then applying this with the correct frequency.
- A common mistake is applying an suboptimal intensity, potentially not considering the intensity at all.
- The second common mistake is failing to apply the stress with sufficient frequency. Often this is linked to applying too great a stress in a single session.
- A comparison I like to make is dental hygiene. Most of the time it’s gentle (brushing) and its frequent. Brushing with a high intensity or an extended duration in one session would not improve hygiene for the week. Indeed it is more likely to cause a injury to the gums. Then at a less frequent interval a more intensive deep clean can be done (the trip to the dental hygienist). It’s not the perfect comparison as the timing is off but it works that it’s obvious that intensity discipline and frequency are crucial to success.
- So have a think. How many sessions this week have you compromised intensity, maybe keeping up with others?
- Have you compromised frequency? Missing a session with the intention to double up or cram multi sessions into the weekend?
Adaptation:
- The other half of the solution is naturally supporting the body in it’s adaptation.
- This is applicable not only following a session but also before a session and during. Often people are drawn to highly commercial “recovery” solutions, (or in the worse case to illegal approaches such as doping).
- Ensuring the basics are covered to get maximal natural benefit from the training you are already signally to your body.
- Preparation: Are you preparing your body to undertake a session in an optimal manner? How well did you sleep beforehand, are you hydrated and have you eaten? This continues through the session with appropriate fuelling for energy and hydration. Following the session, how well are you returning your body to a calm state? Common mistakes I frequently see are rushing to a session having skipped food – the result is usually a compromised session and immediately fuelling with highly processed, low nutrition products to deal with the ravenous appetite post session.
- Post Session: Also quite common is cramming to finish a session inside a fixed time limit and failing to cool down and instead hopping into a car. Although the session has been completed, this is far from optimal in setting your body into a position to make maximal immediate benefit of the hard work.
We all have a finite amount of time available for training (stimulus). Imagine if you can get more return from this training time.
Visualisation: One way to think of the above is to consider a farmer with a fixed field size. The key is not trying to compress more into the fixed field sowing more and more crop. Instead to support the health of the soil and plants such that you get the maximum yield from the seeds already sown. Or in a financial sense, having a marginally smaller increase in yield for the same amount of initial capital will give significantly greater results, especially if those results are compounded over time.
Next steps: Take some quiet time this weekend. Review your last week of training. Without changing the amount of training stimulus do you think you could have optimised your training more? Achieved more from the same? Increased your training yield?
Have a great training week!
So to recap, often the best way to improve is to focus on your training yield. Maximising the potential results from your current training time before you look to add more stimulus. Have a reflection on your own optimisation. Sleeping, preparation and execution of sessions and supporting adaption post session.
Be curious, be open – all the best in your exploration