Firstly we've got to ask the question! Why are we working out? The answer can come in many shapes and forms, but essentially we all do it for the exact same reason. And that's because we want to create a better version of ourselves. It's specifically true about highly motivated people. Still, I've worked with individuals who don't particularly enjoy working out but understand the benefits of exercising and want to improve their appearance, performance and longevity. It doesn't matter whether we like training or not, we don't want to waste our precious time without seeing any results. Optimising your training by utilising proper planning, injury prevention, adequate recovery, and various nutritional strategies will help you achieve your goals quicker, so you can move on to your next target. Planning To achieve the best results in the shortest time possible, you've got to have a plan. So the objective is to design a goal-specific training programme and a diet plan that will guarantee optimum performance. Of course, the more serious a person is about their training, the more precise the planning will be. For example, a pro athlete's training day would be filled with activities like morning cardio, mobility work, and the main training sessions. In addition to that, the athlete's coaching team would determine the number of recovery days and the type of treatment suggested for those days, such as physio or massage therapy. Also, their meal plan would outline the exact amount of calories and macronutrients they had to consume. In the case of an average gym-goer, the approach would be a lot more relaxed. After all, there is no competition season to prepare for, and there isn't any championship title to fight for. Nonetheless, establishing a training schedule and following a meal plan is one hundred per cent recommended. Injury prevention No matter how hard we try to avoid, accidents still can happen. So when it comes to injury prevention, our task is to minimise the risk during training and prepare the body to withstand forces that would otherwise cause injuries. Traumas can vary from minor to very serious. Depending on how bad the situation is, you might be out of training for a few days, but it could be several months. Obviously, the longer the break is, the more decline in performance you'll see. Also, severe injuries like torn ligaments and broken bones will require physiotherapy and perhaps other alternative treatment methods too, which can add financial stress to an already frustrating situation. Another important consideration is that the affected area will always be more prone to future injuries. So to keep training flowing and see progress, we've got to minimise interruptions and must do our best to injury-proof our bodies, which is why prevention is crucial. Adequate recovery
Recovery is just as important as training. We can train hard as hell, but if we don't provide the time and peace for rest and recovery, the body will just give up. Here is an example for you. Imagine hitting your finger with a hammer. You scream, swear and maybe wee yourself a little bit. Not the end of the world. Your nail turns black, but in a few weeks, it's back to normal. That is because you allowed it to heal. Now imagine you keep hitting the finger every day with that hammer. I mean, if you do it on purpose, you should definitely see a therapist; otherwise, you're just seriously clumsy. Anyways, if you smash that finger on a daily basis, it will never heal. So if you want to keep the finger, at some point, you've got to stop continuously hammering it. The same thing is true about the body. You can't just batter it day after day and expect great things to happen. To see your performance improving, you must ensure that the body can repair itself before you start "torturing" it again. To optimise your training results, you must have days in your schedule when you don't do any physical activity. Treat yourself with a massage, sit in the hot tub for a couple of hours, do whatever helps you to relax your body and mind. It would be best also to allocate days with only light activities programmed, such as flexibility and mobility work. Implementing the types of breaks mentioned above is super important; however, sleep is still the most critical aspect of recovery. Quality sleep will be the most significant contributor to your progress. So forget those late-night social media sessions where you keep reading dumb comments about Kim Kardashian's fake butt or trying to list all of Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson's movies. It's impossible! He made too many! Why is he in every single Hollywood movie?! Anyways, back to the topic. If you want to see faster results, hit the bed early and let your body repair itself. Nutritional strategies We cannot talk about optimising training results without bringing nutrition into the conversation. Food is your fuel. The nutrients you consume are your energy source and the building blocks to your body. Of course, quality is super important but to get the best out of your training, you have to get the quantities right as well. If you haven't yet, check out this newsletter's Macronutrient Breakdown article, where I shared several strategies for manipulating macro targets. Your daily calorie target and macronutrient needs will depend on your fitness goals. Those can be easily calculated using websites that will do the math for you. All you've got to do is enter a few details like height, age, weight and current activity level. What the calculator won't tell you is how to eat healthily, though. You can have the perfect calorie, and macro targets set out; however, you're doomed if all your "nutrition" comes from junk food. I always encourage people to do as much cooking as possible, use fresh ingredients, minimise sugary drinks and avoid processed foods. So, we looked at some physical training and nutrition strategies, but we only scratched the surface. All of those strategies can be dissected and discussed way more in detail. If you'd like me to expand on any of them, please let me know, and I'll revisit the subject. Finally, you might have realised that I didn't discuss the psychological aspect of optimising an individual's training results. That's because psychology is a highly complex topic worth discussing in a stand-alone article. Perhaps the following newsletter will be an excellent opportunity to dive into sports psychology.
Written by Szilard Jakab
15.10.2021
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