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Are You Training Hard Enough? · Your Strongest Body

• 0:08
  Speaker 1: You are listening to your strongest body.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Betsy Foster, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and certified nutrition coach.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: I've worked as a personal trainer for over a decade, helping people build strength, speed, muscles, as well as a deep appreciation for their bodies and confidence that helps them live their life to the fullest.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Now I'm sharing what I know with you fitness, nutrition and all the deeper stuff to help you discover your strongest body.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: Hello, hello, welcome back, betsy.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Here we're starting with a question today Are you training hard enough?
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Now, if you know me, I am a person who is going to promote balance, promote listening to your body, promote finding opportunities for rest and recovery whenever possible, but that also in terms of a really effective fitness program.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: A really effective training program means training hard enough.
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Hard enough is going to look different for all different kinds of people, but in order to get real results, we've got to train hard enough.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about that.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Give you some questions to think about and then give you some strategies to help you train harder or develop the skills to know how to push yourself harder so that you are getting more out of your workouts.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: Now you have probably heard this from fitness enthusiasts before fitness professionals.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: A big complaint is people don't train hard enough and that's why they don't see results, and at first listen to that kind of statement, it can be a real eye roller.
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: It can be.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Why does someone assume that I'm not working hard enough?
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Well, research has now concluded or not concluded research has suggested that people actually are working at a percentage of their ability, much less than they believe that they are.
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: So when we talk in training about maximal efforts, maximal abilities, we typically talk in terms of one rep maxes or five rep maxes, meaning how much can you possibly move for one repetition of an exercise or five repetitions of an exercise?
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: That is the metric we use for strength and the metric that we use for maximal output.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: Now, the study that I'm referencing found that individuals were significantly underestimating their maximal output when they went to do sets of 10 repetitions on an exercise.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: By a lot that self perception and that self assessment, it tends to be much less than what a person could actually do, and that's really interesting because it is a lot about sort of how you view yourself and your abilities when it comes to lifting weights, and this is an important takeaway.
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: When we talk about training hard enough, what we're talking about is getting.
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: In order to really make adaptations in terms of strength, in terms of muscle, in terms of physique, we have to get close to failure multiple times per week.
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: We got to get close to failure multiple times per week, so that typically means we have to get to what I like to call the edge of discomfort.
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: It is not going to be comfortable every time you lift weights and if it is, we are probably not where we need to be.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Now notice, I'm saying the edge of discomfort in that we also don't need to be making ourselves sick every time we exercise.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: And so when we talk about getting to almost near failure again, not failure, but almost near failure two to three times per week, we are talking about pushing ourselves to a place that feels like we couldn't do one or two more repetitions.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: So I think that's a good thing to be thinking about when we're talking about what that edge of discomfort or edge of failure is, and that's sort of a general rule.
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: There might be circumstances where only going for one or two reps and it should feel as if that last rep maybe won't make it off the floor or won't make it above your head, but most times when you ask someone, are they training hard enough?
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: The answer probably if they doubt themselves and if they feel like, okay, maybe I'm not training hard enough, maybe I'm not seeing progress in the gym, maybe this is all going too slowly.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: They think about more time, more workouts, more total volume versus what I believe to be the bigger dial movers more intensity and more intentionality.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Okay, I'm gonna say that again.
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: So people, when you ask them, do they train hard enough?
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: And they're like, oh, maybe.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you're right, I'm like this progress is so slow.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: One progress sometimes is slow, but if you wanna see faster progress, it's not about more time and more workouts.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Typically, we need more intensity and more intentionality.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: Now, if the amount of time you're able to work out is one of the things where you feel like lacks in intensity, then sure, you could add more time.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: But when I'm talking about intensity, I'm talking about ratcheting up that difficulty level where we get to a place that we're on the edge of discomfort discomfort, not pain and then intentionality means progressing the same things over time or being focused with what it is we're doing.
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: A lot of times when you ask someone if they're training hard enough, they decide to, and no shade to these kinds of programs but go to like a big class where the goal is to just do more so it feels like you worked harder.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: That is not intentionality.
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: Intentionality is thinking about those weakness points or thinking about those places where you want to grow and improve and then putting the time, effort, energy and intensity into that area.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Intentionality in training is likely a big piece that people are missing, and if we were more intentional with what we were doing, that intensity would come right up because you would start to feel how things are a little bit easier than you imagine and then you could increase the difficulty level.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: So think about the last time you were training, the last time you were lifting weights.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: How many sets could you have done?
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: One or two more repetitions, how many sets or how many sets do you feel like you could have increased the weight a little bit?
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: These are the places where we can increase that intensity, increase that difficulty level, push yourself just a little bit harder to go over the edge, because that sort of little line, the line that delineates whether we get the adaptation from our body and not is it can be thin sometimes, especially if you have been working out a lot.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: So we know that when you start working out, you can see improvement much faster because you've got quote unquote newbie gains, meaning any sort of stimulus that you're providing yourself is gonna create an adaptation because you haven't given yourself that stimulus before.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: Once you've been doing that for six weeks, you start to see that you actually have to then increase that difficulty level.
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: So priority number one is always focusing on that consistency.
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Once we've got that consistency, now we talk about that intensity and that intentionality, and so what I'm gonna give you are a few things that you can practice in order to determine whether or not you are training hard enough and work on that skill to push yourself harder.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: So people are self-selecting weights that are not enough for them.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: That's happening, and in order for us to push ourselves harder and maybe make the choice to select weights that are heavier or increase the number of reps, we've got to address what is standing in the way.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: So is it fear of injury?
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Because that's reasonable for sure.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: But if you are progressing slowly enough over time, you are likely keeping yourself very safe.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: We cannot take the risk of injury down to 0%, can't do it, and most people who are getting injured are oftentimes that's happening in life outside of the gym, because you're not moving with the same body mechanics that you were in the gym.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: But it's not to say that people aren't getting injured in the gym for sure, but that fear of injury, if it's the thing that's holding you back, you've got to figure out a way to track what it is that you're doing so that you know each time you are increasing the difficulty level at a pace in which you can minimize that risk of injury.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: So number one for us in order to develop that skill to know how to push harder is to track the weights that we're doing so that we know how we're increasing.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: And if you're tracking it and you're seeing how many reps you can do with a given weight, you're going to start to develop no-transcript sense within yourself that you know oh, this is what this weight felt like with this reps on this week.
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: So what we're doing when we're tracking is bringing more awareness to the feelings and the sensations of those last reps, those last sets.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Oftentimes, if the weight is not your max lift and if you are at anything above three reps, maybe above five reps, even pushing for one more rep is gonna be a useful tool to know could I do one more?
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: Could I do one more when we get to those lower reps and those really high weights?
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: We may not have the ability to push for one more, but tracking is gonna really help you, tracking the loads and the reps and the sets A lot of people.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: If you're not following a program, that's a great way to do it, but if you aren't and you're just working out on your own, you definitely want to keep a good record of what you're doing so that you know to start at either that or a little bit above it the next time.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: You want to, just like I said, tune into those bodily sensations.
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: So, with that intentionality, you're starting to feel and think about how you feel.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: What is the thing that's getting tired fastest?
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: Is it my grip?
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: Is it my low back?
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Is it just that I can't?
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: I feel like my heart rate continues to increase.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Any of that is gonna give you the information that you need to make a decision about.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Can I push harder?
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: Can I make this more difficult?
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: It's all feedback and if we aren't practiced at listening to what's going on within us and the sensations and the way we feel about it, then we can't make decisions that are different and if we know how we're feeling with given weights, given sets, given reps, we can we can determine whether or not we feel like we're ready to progress or make something harder.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: The next one is to sort of slightly overestimate your abilities, slightly overestimate them.
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: You got to think to yourself a little bit and know yourself.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: So if you're a person who's going to be wildly disappointed if you don't get the reps at a given weight, then this strategy may not be for you.
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: But if we think about the, if we think about the idea that we're all sort of self-selecting weights that are too light for us, or sets and reps that are too light, too little for us then if we slightly overestimate, we can meet those higher expectations.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: And what's the worst thing that happens?
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: If you don't meet those, you you try to get it the next time or the next time or the next time and, and I promise, sooner or later, you start to develop a better sense.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: The more you train, the better, and the more you train at an at an appropriate intensity for you, so one in which you are getting to that edge of discomfort, you're going to start to be a better predictor of what weight you can use, because you're tracking it, because you're more intentional with your the sensations in your body and because you have tried those heavier weights before, spend some time at that edge of discomfort.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: You gotta put the work in and feel what it feels like to know what pushing is.
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: So, even if you're not gonna train your whole workout like that, pick the first exercise and get to the edge of discomfort, get to the point where you feel like you can't do anymore and feel what that feels like.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Then feel what it feels like to recover from that, what it feels like the next few days.
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: You almost have to know that you can survive it in order to get there again.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: And that's a little dramatic.
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: When I'm talking about the kind of training here, we're not talking about flame throwing or jumping out of a plane or anything.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: We're talking about a little heavier weight to the point where you feel like I don't know if I'm gonna make it through this rep and you do and it was really really hard and you now know that you're capable of that and that that's the kind of sensation you want to get to with a few of your exercises, two to three times per week.
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: You gotta get to that edge of discomfort, get familiar with it to be able to get there again and again and again.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: And remember I'm saying two to three times a week because there are going to be opportunities where some workouts don't take you there as well, as you're going to have time for rest and recovery.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: We're not training like this seven days a week, three workouts a day.
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Not even professional athletes train in that way.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: They have undulation of their difficulty levels.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: But they gotta get to that edge at some point, to the edge of failure, to the edge of discomfort.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Realizing that when you get to the edge of failure, sometimes you fail and that's okay.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: Failing safely is important and that is maybe a personal thing to examine.
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: If you struggle with that failure part, maybe that's why you're holding yourself back from the edge of failure, because you're worried about how that's going to feel.
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: And if that's something in your life, there's no better place to sort of overcome it and learn about yourself than in the weight room.
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: Lastly, my last suggestion is hiring a trainer.
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: A trainer is going to be someone who is on the outside, who is programming for you, watching you, and is going to be able to take you to that edge of failure safely.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: They're going to know how many times you can do that they're going to oftentimes because they're not self-selecting, they're selecting the weights for you, probably better estimate your abilities.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: That does not mean that they do the work for you.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: You at some point have to be the person that gets to the edge of failure and there are people who, even when presented that by a trainer, they can't, they struggle to get there because they're nervous or whatever the trainer can help you with that.
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: The trainer can provide that accountability, that support, that added push.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: At some point you take over for that.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: You got to do it on your own a little bit because you're probably not training with your trainer all the time.
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: You learn to develop that skill.
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: But they can be a huge factor in helping to support that, in helping to assure you that you can do this harder thing that feels like it's out of reach.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: So this idea of training harder is not that like person with a megaphone just screaming and then someone doing a thousand burpees.
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: That's what I want you to take away when I say are you training hard enough?
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: I don't want you to go out and buy six class passes to something and then commit to two races and then say that you're going to get in three three hour gym workouts.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: We're focusing on increasing the intensity and the intentionality of each and every workout so that we get to the edge of failure enough times to make an adaptation.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: And then, when we adapt, our body literally adapts, makes that new weight easier and we have to increase the weight, or makes that rep range easier and we have to increase the reps.
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: And if you continue to do that, progressively, overload over time, with enough intensity, add enough sessions, enough training sessions, you will see and feel results.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: I promise you.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: I promise you I'm going to let you go and work out and do the thing and let me know how it goes.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: Just text me, send me and I mean, if you have my number, text me.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: I'm not quite at the point where I have like a second line for you to, for you to text me.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: If you don't, I'm not, I'm not that you know, popular.
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: You can send me an inside.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: That really made me laugh.
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Text me.
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: You can send me an Instagram DM at foster underscore strength.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Or you can send me an email, betsy, at the letter, be foster strongcom If you've got questions, if you are just excited to share what's working for you.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: I want to hear it, and if this was helpful for you or you think it could be helpful for somebody else, leave a rating or review or simply share the podcast with someone you know, that would be so, so wonderful.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you, I appreciate your time and I want you to go build your strongest body and I'll talk to you next time.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: Bye.