A training tip and today's training....

Training
prep - primal move
28 kg MP ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 x 3 ladders
(R+L) 1 - 2 - 3 - 4  x 2 ladders

28 kg Goblet Squats x 10 x 4 sets (between ladders)

Primal move finish


This training tip appeared in the Strong First newsletter:

What does porridge have to do with training?
or
Don’t set Minimums

Brett Jones Master SFG, CSCS, CK-FMS

   
    “Too hot, too cold and then just right...” or so goes the bowls of porridge from the children’s story Goldilocks.  Now what exactly this has to do with training will become clear in a bit but just roll that around in your head for a minute and try to put your training volume, and intensity (whether total volume of reps or % of 1 rm volume”) into those categories.

    I’ll give you minute....

“Too Hot” might indicate days where the high volume of work left you “trashed or destroyed” on a snatch session or a pressing session where you actually failed on a few sets (failing to hit the goal reps or technical failure)

“Too Cold” might indicate training days that were easy maybe due to limited training time or different equipment etc... but the training was “easily” accomplished with minimal fatigue.

“Just Right” might indicate training days where everything fell into place with great technical execution and hitting the goal reps on each set with a couple left in the tank and after the session you actually felt better than when you started.

    So now go back through your training logs and see which training days were too hot, too cold or just right.

    I am willing to bet that the Too Hot column is winning out with hardly any Too Cold days and a smattering of Just Right days in there.

    Guess what?  Most of your training days should fall into the Too Cold or Just Right categories.  I’ll pause for a moment to let you digest this....

    While digesting let me ask you a couple of questions.  Have you used the ROP from ETK or the programming from RTK?  (If you have to ask what those abbreviations mean than you haven’t and you have some reading to do)  Did you listen to the programming for the “easy” days and the rest days?  You know those 50% or so volume and intensity days.  I am willing to bet that the idea of doing “less than” you are capable of didn’t “seem” right so you added a bit of volume.  After all who wants to do “less than”???

    Unfortunately those days where you failed to do the “less than” are also days where you consciously or subconsciously set a MINIMUM. 
You know where you thought you were “honoring” some imagined level you will not allow yourself to go under.  “I am capable of doing 5 ladders of presses with X weight or hitting ____ snatches in 7 minutes with X weight so I will not do less than that because that is my new “baseline”, my new minimum.”

    Don’t set minimums!  And be careful setting “maximums” unless you have peaked for the event. 

    Now can you see how those conscious or subconscious minimums lead to having too many “too hot” training days?

    Your training should live in the “too cold” or “just right” categories because this is where you will recover best, where you will have the best technical execution and (dare I say it) where you will have the most fun training.  That’s right training is supposed to be fun.

    Required reading to get your head wrapped around this is:
Power to the People (info on cycling your intensity)
Enter the Kettlebell
Return of the Kettlebell
and finally Easy Strength
(ES is the best guide to programming your training around and the Easy strength program will make the porridge analogy make even more sense)

    So there you have it a training tip designed to adjust your thinking to your programming.  Too Hot, Too Cold, Just Right and looking out for those conscious or subconscious minimums.