Before we get into today’s discussion, which is more of a rant than a discussion, I want you to read the topic out loud. And then repeat it once more!
Now all together: “LESS IS MORE!”
Now that you have done this, I want you to take 5 minutes and answer the following the question:
WHY DO YOU PARTICIPATE IN PHYSICAL EXERCISE?
There is some illusion going around that doing 45min workouts, with 100’s of reps, 6 times a week for 2 hours a day is the way to achieve the perfect body and ultimate fitness level. That in order to look good, this is what you have to put your body through day after day. For you to be your fittest and strongest self you need to absolutely demolish yourself.
If this is you - you have one of 3 problems in life or maybe you’re experiencing all of them:
You are uneducated when it comes to health and exercise
You are seriously bored and you need to find yourself a hobby, and quick!
You are avoiding things, people or situations in your life and that is why you're spending 3 hours at the gym.
Although we deem exercise as important, it’s still perceived by the body and brain as an outside stressor. The body deals with stress by either fighting it, or fleeing from it. The more stress you put your body under, the more recovery time it will need to optimally function again.
So what happens when we train too much or under recover? When we exercise we stimulate the secretion of both catabolic (breaking down) and anabolic (building up) hormones. Let’s quickly look how these affect us:
Catabolic hormones - one of the major catabolic hormones is cortisol and it’s release depends on how high the intensity of the exercise is. During and after high intensity exercise cortisol levels rise. This will in turn affect our immune system and how we use fuel for energy.
TOO MUCH cortisol too often is a PROBLEM. This leads to insufficient recovery, increases in blood sugar levels and also changes in where body fat is stored. Chronically elevated levels from training can also suppress the production of anabolic hormones like testosterone, which brings us to our next point.
Anabolic hormones - Two of the major ones are testosterone and growth hormone, helping out with protein synthesis and the stimulation and growth of lean muscle. High intensity exercise stimulates anabolic hormone production. As with everything, there is a “sweet spot”.
TOO MUCH, TOO INTENSELY, TOO OFTEN will suppress them. As we get older anabolic hormones go down with age, which makes it harder to rebuild and repair.
So to bring us back to the issue at hand - the need to be doing more stems from the fact that you are giving less when you are working out. Intensity is indirectly proportional to volume. I know - big words and a big sentence, but let’s break it down so everyone can understand.
The more you do - the less intense it will be. And we kind of like keeping things intense - since that is the nature of our training model (read up if you’re not sure about that either).
We exercise for longevity, to slow down the aging process and to reduce the risk of injuries and metabolic diseases - not to increase it. Unless by some miracle you have 27 hours in a day to help you recover better from bullshit 45min - 100’s of rep scheme workouts, there is absolutely no benefit to implementing them in your training regime EVERY SINGLE DAY.
If you need to get the best out of your 60min in the gym then move faster, lift heavier and move with intention. Your coaches know what is best for you, because clearly some of you don’t even know it yourself.
That's All!
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