I want to have a short conversation about common sense when training.  For many of you this will be obvious and you will wonder why i am writing this but recognize that if you think this is a silly post, its not for you.  If you get some good info out of this post, well i don’t know what to say….  We can’t all be smart..

First tip:

I know CF is all about performance and we all want to get better at every workouts.  I also know that we are constantly evaluating ourselves compared to others in the gym.  For those of you serious about training that really want to see marked improvement in your performance, Please understand that its acceptable, if not normal, to perform at submax levels on a daily and weekly basis.  By submax i mean NOT hitting a PR everytime you do a movement or a certain workout.  For those of you without an exercise science background, or athletic background for that matter.  There is a theory called super compensation.  basically it says training will cause you to appear deconditioned for a period of time before your body adapts and swings your performance into the green and you actually get better.  Ideally this is when you should attempt PR’s.  Conversely when you attempt max efforts while in the red or “deconditioned” state you should not expect record times or weights.  This is simply an indicator of an effective training program.  A good sign that you are on a good program is that you start to hit record weights or times in your last week of training before a competition.  Moral of the story, don’t freak out if you don’t PR everytime you attempt a lift or workout.  In fact be proud of yourself because your PR’s are actually good representations of your abilities.

TIp Two:

Are you hurt, injured, or does it just hurt?  I began my weightlifting career with a bulgarian cycle.  The bulgarians believe that in order to get better at the snatch and clean and Jerk, you must snatch and clean and jerk nearly everyday.  You must also front squat and thats basically it!!  Sounds great in theory right?  In practice it is a beat down of a program and forces you to work at relative max loads (see tip one) on a daily basis.  This hurts.  Like down in the bones hurts.  Now, lets distinguish between injury and being hurt, or hurting.  An injury is essentially something caused by some outside agent and can include anything from a broken collar bone to a bruised toe (both severely painful) and will require time off to heal.  Hurting is simply a painful sensation, either caused by physical suffering or mental anguish.  The mind can derive some weird shit when it gets pushed to the brink.  Think about the post fran feeling.

So now, enters one of my favorite questions to ask people when they are training and decide something hurts.  Are you hurt or injured?  When i ask this i am looking for an answer that tells me if the specific movement we are doing will make whatever is hurting worse.  If it will make it worse, you are likely injured.  If it doesn’t make it worse, you are just hurting.  Hurting is ok, Injury is not.

tip Three:

If it seems like a bad idea, it probably is.  My first back injury occurred after, or rather in the middle of, 15 deadlifts at double bodyweight.  From the first rep i knew it was a bad idea but i’m stupid so i did it anyway.  I know look at any workout with deadlifts over 225 for more than 5 reps at a time as dangerous and won’t prescribe it nor do i even like watching people attempt it.  Another potential example would be “flying pullups” in a competition…

Enough for now.  I will see what comes up and possibly add to this post later.  I have lots to take about and i wanted to thank you all for the support and brainstorming for me.

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