The equation of progress: how to train to get results

Why is there a load, but no progress

Many people literally drive themselves into training, quickly increasing the load. At first, there is little progress, but then it stops. Then the person begins to train even harder, but this does not help either - progress has frozen in place.

This is a common mistake people make when they think the equation of progress in sports looks like this:

progress = workout + rest

In fact, the equation looks like this:

progress = workout × rest

There is an old joke about the runner that perfectly demonstrates this. One day, a runner came to a famous coach and asked him how long it takes to train to become a world-class athlete. The coach replied: "If you run five times a week, you will go to the world level in 10 years." Then the runner asked how many years it would take if he trained twice as much. “Twenty years,” the coach replied.

But it’s important to remember that rest is not just a lack of training.

What does the right rest consist of?

Rest necessarily includes a quality eight-hour sleep and proper nutrition with a sufficient amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

If you do everything right - eat healthy food and sleep eight hours every night - our equation will have rest equal to one. If one of the components of rest is violated, its value decreases: rest <1.

Let's imagine two scenarios:

1. The athlete sleeps eight hours every night, eats well, trains wisely. In this case, the equation will look like this:

progress = workout × 1

2. The athlete chooses unhealthy foods and sleeps for only six hours. In our equation, it will look like this:

progress = workout × 0.5

As you can see, without proper rest, you need to put in twice the effort to get the same results. Many athletes who are stuck at the same level actually need to reduce the load to match their recovery methods. In this case, the body will have time to recover and become stronger by the next workout.

We figured out the second part of the equation. But the first part - training - is not as easy as it seems.

What does the training multiplier consist of?

If you have any problems with body mechanics, for example, a tight thoracic spine, you will not be able to increase the load without harm to your health. Therefore, the "training" part of the equation also needs to be decomposed into two components: work on the problems of your body and the strength part. As a result, our equation will look like this:

progress = (work on problems + strength part) × rest

Let us analyze why you need to work on your problems, using the example of a car. Imagine that your body is a racing car. If you are already over 30, it has a high mileage, in some places it is dented, wheels often fail, some parts are loose, and all this interferes with increasing the speed.

To make your car faster, you change the engine to a more powerful one, while not paying attention to the state of other parts and mechanisms. Agree that with such operation, the car has every chance of not withstanding the new speed and falling apart right on the track.

Most people try to significantly improve their strength performance without thinking about whether their body can handle the new stress.

In order not to fall apart on one of your workouts, first you need to conduct a "checkup" - to find out what is wrong with your body, what prevents you from improving your results.

How to work on your problems

Test yourself with FMS tests. Maybe you lack stretching, some joints are stiff, there are posture disorders that prevent you from performing exercises with the correct technique, or insufficiently strong core muscles.

At the beginning of each workout, do exercises to help correct your problems. For example, if you're going to squat or deadlift and you don't have enough mobility in your hip joint, include hip opening exercises in your warm-up.

In addition to exercising to help you solve musculoskeletal problems, look at warming up before exercising. You can do light exercises such as overhead clap jumps, jumping rope, or more advanced gymnastic exercises such as a wheel or hand-walk. After that, your body will be warmed up and ready for action.

Yes, such training will require more time from you, because you have to spend it on working out problem areas, but in the end you will speed up your progress and save your health.