You Can’t Train a Skill to Fatigue

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – Vince Lombardi

Whether you’re practicing a sport-specific skill or performing speed and agility drills, fatigue will adversely affect your performance.  Adequate rest and recovery are necessary to perform at 100% effort (or close to it) and with optimal technique.

In short, optimal performance requires adequate rest.

“Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.” – Unknown

Success results from the ability to repeat maximum effort many times.  In order to perform with maximum effort and technically correct form and mechanics, you must allow adequate rest intervals between repetitions and/or sets.  As a general rule, there should be a correlation between the intensity level of the activity and the associated rest interval, with higher intensity exercises and drills followed by longer rest intervals.

I’ve seen drills at basketball practices where players run high-intensity sprints or shuttles followed by free-throw shooting, to simulate game conditions, when they must be able to make foul shots when fatigued late in games.  While there is merit to these drills, players must master the skill —  in this case, free-throw shooting — and develop appropriate muscle-memory before progressing to game-like situations.  Same goes for any other sport-specific skill.

Please note that this strategy does not apply to conditioning, which is another activity, altogether.  If you are performing high-intensity exercises and drills without allowing adequate rest between repetitions and sets, you are not doing skill development or speed and agility training.  There’s nothing wrong with conditioning, as long as conditioning is your goal.

Remember, fatigue prevents skill development.  Learn the skill. Practice the skill with technically correct form and mechanics. Develop the appropriate muscle-memory. Master the skill. Once you’ve accomplished this, then it’s time to progress to game-like simulations and situations.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

You Can’t Train a Skill to Fatigue

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” – Vince Lombardi

Whether you’re practicing a sport-specific skill or performing speed and agility drills, fatigue will adversely affect your performance.  Adequate rest and recovery are necessary to perform at 100% effort (or close to it) and with optimal technique.  My friend and colleague, Megan Osysko, recently addressed this issue in her blog post, The Importance of Exercise Rest and Recovery.

In short, optimal performance requires adequate rest.

“Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong.” – Unknown

Success results from the ability to repeat maximum effort many times.  In order to perform with maximum effort and technically correct form and mechanics, you must allow adequate rest intervals between repetitions and/or sets.  As a general rule, there should be a correlation between the intensity level of the activity and the associated rest interval, with higher intensity exercises and drills followed by longer rest intervals.

I’ve seen drills at basketball practices where players run high-intensity sprints or shuttles followed by free-throw shooting, to simulate game conditions, when they must be able to make foul shots when fatigued late in games.  While there is merit to these drills, players must master the skill —  in this case, free-throw shooting — and develop appropriate muscle-memory before progressing to game-like situations.  Same goes for any other sport-specific skill.

Please note that this strategy does not apply to conditioning, which is another activity, altogether.  If you are performing high-intensity exercises and drills without allowing adequate rest between repetitions and sets, you are not doing skill development or speed and agility training.  There’s nothing wrong with conditioning, as long as conditioning is your goal.

Remember, fatigue prevents skill development.  Learn the skill. Practice the skill with technically correct form and mechanics. Develop the appropriate muscle-memory. Master the skill. Once you’ve accomplished this, then it’s time to progress to game-like simulations and situations.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

How Hard Should You Push Yourself?

Yesterday morning, I had a discussion with one of my customers about the extent to which an individual should push him/herself when working out.  How do you know when you’re done and what if you feel like you could be doing more?

First of all, keep in mind that your training should be goal-oriented, and your training plan should be aligned with your goal(s).  Whether your goal is building muscular strength, power, size, or endurance, there is evidence-based research to support a specific plan for each (please see previous posts on volume, load, and repetition).  There is virtually no evidence to support exercising to the point of exhaustion; more is not always better.  Research has demonstrated that full muscular activation is/can be achieved before you reach a state of exhaustion or fatigue.  Additionally, fatigue adversely affects range-of-motion and technique, which can compromise your gains and increase the likelihood of injury.

It’s okay to push yourself, as long as you have a plan — and follow it — and train with a purpose.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?

Push Yourself: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

If you want to improve your strength, speed, agility, and athleticism, you’ve got to get out of your comfort zone.  That means you can’t limit yourself to the exercises you’re comfortable with, or those you like.  Same goes for the intensity level of your workout.  It’s not (and won’t be) easy.  It’s supposed to be challenging… you’ve got to push yourself.

There’s going to be fatigue and there’s going to be soreness.  You can’t just workout on the days you feel like it.  It doesn’t work that way.  Think about your goals.  Why are you doing this, in the first place?  For most of us, it’s about self-improvement.  We want to “upgrade” ourselves in one (or more) of the following areas:

• The way we perform
• The way we look (our appearance)
• The way we feel (health and wellness)

The desire to perform, look, and feel better is one thing.  Most people have that.  The motivation, willingness, and drive to do the work necessary to achieve that is a different story.  The latter is what separates those who really want it from those who are merely enamored with the notion of self-improvement.  To do what’s necessary to achieve your goals requires discipline.  You can thrown in a few more of the “D”s as well… dedication, determination, desire, and drive.

Write down your goals.  Revisit them often.  Use them as motivation on a daily basis.  Adjust your training periodically, as necessary, to ensure it’s aligned with your goals.  Your mind will try to tell your body to stop.  Your body doesn’t have to listen.  Push yourself now and reap the rewards for your efforts later.

Get STRONGER, Get FASTER!

Your thoughts?