Consistency > Intensity

[justregularguy]

I really feel like consistency trumps intensity.

If you train frequently at low intensity you get okay results without injuring or completely exhausting yourself.

If you train 2 hours hardcore and push yourself to the limit, you actually break down a lot of muscle. That needs quite some time to fully recover from. It takes only one bigger injury and it will throw you back so much that anyone else who trains with lower intensity will eventually catch up and best you.

Furthermore I don't find it very fun to kill myself each training session. It doesn't do me any good when I don't look forward to the next training session because it's so physically grueling. The moment something becomes a burden and is no longer a fun activity, you usually stop doing it.
 
I feel like many people are so obsessed with doing the correct amount of reps, sets or whatever.. they ruin it for themselves. They overcomplicate it. They want the best possible results which requires a very strict diet, sleeping shedule and training regiment and that's usually not a lot of fun. They eventually stop training altogether for that reason. So what did it do for them? Nothing. Should've took it easy, have fun, train consistenly and get results long term.

Small, short workouts, multiple times a week, pretty much every day that's how I train. Bascially a high volume, low intensity split with barely any rest days. I train some part of my body everyday. I also feel like it's much more important to actually feel the muscle and build some kind of mind-body connection than mindlessly blasting out the reps.

Will that give me the best possible results? No I don't think so. Will I have fun and keep doing it? Yes!

What are your thoughts?

[billfish]

Mar 6, 2019 15:05:42 GMT justregularguy said:

I really feel like consistency trumps effort.

If you train frequently at low intensity you get okay results without injuring or completely exhausting yourself.

If you train 2 hours hardcore and push yourself to the limit, you actually break down a lot of muscle. That needs quite some time to fully recover. It takes only one bigger injury and it will throw you back so much that anyone else who trains with lower intensity will eventually catch up and best you.

Furthermore I don't find it very fun to kill myself each training session. It doesn't do me any good when I don't look forward to the next training session because it's so physically grueling. The moment something becomes a burden and is no longer a fun activity, you usually stop doing it.
 
I feel like many people are so obsessed with doing the correct amount of reps, sets or whatever.. they ruin it for themselves. They overcomplicate it. They want the best possible results which requires a very strict diet, sleeping shedule and training regiment and that's usually not a lot of fun. They eventually stop training altogether for that reason. So what did it do for them? Nothing. Should've took it easy, have fun, train consistenly and get results long term.

Small, short workouts, multiple times a week, pretty much every day that's how I train. Bascially a high volume, low intensity split with barely any rest days. I train some part of my body everyday. I also feel like it's much more important to actually feel the muscle and build some kind of mind-body connection than mindlessly blasting out the reps.

Will that give me the best possible results? No I don't think so. Will I have fun and keep doing it? Yes!

What are your thoughts?

I think you are right

[Bruce Tackett]

I agree. A half hour, or so, workout performed consistently over a year will do you a heck of a lot more good than knocking yourself out for hours per session for a few weeks and then giving up. If your goal is to add size, it really doesn't take that much - the right exercises performed consistently over time will do it.

[justregularguy]

I was experimenting with high intensity workouts over the last 6 weeks or so and it didn't do much for me. I need waaay more time to recover and it's not like a I got much bigger or anything. Maybe the opposite approach isn't even that bad. If I train every day, maybe my body adapts even better. I find this very interesting

I agree. A half hour, or so, workout performed consistently over a year will do you a heck of a lot more good than knocking yourself out for hours per session for a few weeks and then giving up. If your goal is to add size, it really doesn't take that much - the right exercises performed consistently over time will do it.

Amen to that. I was really surprised how much my muscles grew since I started training with the hook. Particular my back and shoulders. Even my biceps! I do not even train my biceps a lot but I train it. Bruce I'm gonna be a new man by the end of the year

[billfish]

Mar 6, 2019 15:24:50 GMT justregularguy said:

I was experimenting with high intensity workouts over the last 6 weeks or so and it didn't do much for me. I need waaay more time to recover and it's not like a I got much bigger or anything. Maybe the opposite approach isn't even that bad. If I train every day, maybe my body adapts even better. I find this very interesting

You can train everyday.....just the way you are doing it
I did that for years starting in my fifties and it worked well for me
Stayed fit and free of injuries
It's not a bodybuilding contest, it's staying fit for life
Keep up the good work

[Dave Reslo]

Unless I have something specific coming up I just train when I feel like it, the link between health and fitness is actually pretty weak and putting pressure on yourself to exercise is pretty pointless. Gyms are full of scrawny pencilnecks thrashing the shit out their bodies and getting nowhere until life or an actual sport gets in the way. I've tried keeping a tight schedule and inevitably I get a cold or just a couple bad nights' sleep or whatever and the whole thing falls apart.

[Bruce Tackett]

Mar 6, 2019 15:24:50 GMT justregularguy said:

Bruce I'm gonna be a new man by the end of the year

I positively slather with anticipation!

[Bruce Tackett]

Mar 6, 2019 16:19:48 GMT Dave Reslo said:

I get a cold or just a couple bad nights' sleep or whatever and the whole thing falls apart.

Colds are the workout killer! They set you back 4 weeks - 2 weeks to get over a cold and then another 2 weeks to get back to where you were. I dread getting a cold.

[Dave Reslo]

I've got a cold right now!!!

[Bruce Tackett]

Oh, you poor guy! You have my sympathy!

[Bruce Tackett]

Actually, there is one bright side to having a cold. When you start getting better, you feel rejuvinated, like winter turning to spring. So, you got that to look forward to.

[golden]

Consistency trumps intensity. All you really need is about15 minutes of calisthenics, and a brisk walk of 30 minutes. Just doing 15 reps of pushups, sit ups and squats, for 15 minutes, no rest between sets, will keep you fairly fit, if done consistently. There is no need to kill ourselves, we are not training for a championship boxing match, or to become Mr. Universe.

[Bob50]

Low reps/high tension workouts do not exhaust and allow training daily too.

[Mr Average]

Mar 6, 2019 15:24:50 GMT justregularguy said:

I was experimenting with high intensity workouts over the last 6 weeks or so and it didn't do much for me. I need waaay more time to recover and it's not like a I got much bigger or anything. Maybe the opposite approach isn't even that bad. If I train every day, maybe my body adapts even better. I find this very interesting

I agree. A half hour, or so, workout performed consistently over a year will do you a heck of a lot more good than knocking yourself out for hours per session for a few weeks and then giving up. If your goal is to add size, it really doesn't take that much - the right exercises performed consistently over time will do it.

Amen to that. I was really surprised how much my muscles grew since I started training with the hook. Particular my back and shoulders. Even my biceps! I do not even train my biceps a lot but I train it. Bruce I'm gonna be a new man by the end of the year

That is some pop you have going on your bicep, if that arm is anything to go by you will definitely be a changed man.

[mozietoes]

I do 2 mornings a week at the gym - about 40 mins each session (nothing too strenous - 8 and 12kg kettlebells) , 2 mornings a week stretching for 40 mins at home and one morning a week doing balance work, again for about 30-40 minutes. I don't really feel it is that intense based on what I see other people doing at the gym - in fact I often feel I'm not working hard enough. However, about 9 days ago I woke up and just felt exhausted and was dreading going to the gym so I decided to take some time out and just do stretching every day. I've just started with the bells again after 9 days of stretching and I'm amazed at how much easier all the exercises feel. Think I'm gonna take a week off more often - I enjoyed it so much. As someone commented earlier it's about being healthy and feeling good and I just didn't feel like I was either!