Training Intensity: Always A Ball Buster Or Not?

Training intensity, or exercise intensity seems to be a big topic this day and age. With the tremendous popularity of CrossFit alone one can see that training intensity is probably here to stay for a while as the main ingredient of many programs. The fact is though training intensity has been around in many forms long before CrossFit was a brand name. It really only boils down to one thing at the end of the day and that is that training intensity can be a real Ball Buster! However the question I want to pose today is that should this be the case every time you step foot in the weight room or onto the performance floor?

Working Like A Diesel Engine…

So should you be like a diesel engine and continue to hit the gym and try to blast a high training intensity session everyday? Well, I think the long answer to this is that it is relative to you and where you are in your personal level of fitness. Granted most of us have walked into the gym with the attitude like we’re freaking Charles Bronson and we’re going to decimate any training obstacle that steps foot in front of us…(And yes I do realize this is old school! 😉 )

Yes, we’ve all been there. Ok, maybe not all of us, but you get my point.  Look the goal of smart programming is about progression and progression is relative to what stage you happen to be in with respect to your body’s fitness level. As we all know it’s true that the fitter we are the more we can do, therefore the less recovery time is needed, however recovery time is still NEEDED.

I mean as Charles Bronson as we all want to be we’re still living organisms that fluctuate through various metabolic changes and adjustments in order to adapt to the stresses we place on our bodies during all forms of training. Here’s a little video I did yesterday to elaborate a bit further on my points. (By the way a thumbs up or a LIKE below the video on YouTube is much appreciated :-))

Trust me it was the calm before the storm! I’m a bit sore and stiff from that session yesterday and that feeds directly into my point. I’m still going hard today, but I’m going to be varying my training intensity. Generally we associate training splits with dividing body segments (upper/lower), but splitting in terms of varying intensity level is also a great idea.

As an example I feel strongly that there should be a split of speed days and agility days. If we’re talking strength I think it’s a good idea to split more intense squat days with less intense squat days. By doing this, as I pointed out in the video, you don’t deep fry your nervous system like a KFC chicken finger. Learning your body determines how you should be training your body! Let that one sink in for a second.

If you feel like giving your training program a badass Charles Bronson upgrade then make sure you get your copy of my Brandon Richey’s Better Than Steroids ebook right here.

Do you have a certain split or a variation of fluctuating intensity that you have mapped out for your weekly training routine? If so I’d love to hear about it and I’m sure everyone else would too. Please feel free to leave your routines, questions, and comments in the comment box below this article. Remember that most anyone can train hard, but only the best train smart my friend!