By: Jacob Wellock

Every day when you come into the gym, your goal should be to leave fitter than when you came in. This can be difficult to do sometimes because some days you are going to work harder than you will on others and in turn you will have a better result because you put in more work. It’s a simple equation, you get out what you put in and what you put in over time will add up. Ask yourself, “Am I putting in 100% everyday?” I can answer that for you, you’re not. You know why? Because it is impossible, no one can give 100% everyday 7 days a week. It isn’t sustainable and it’s not realistic, but how close can you get to that number? Let’s find out.

Like I was saying, the best results are when you put in the hardest work, but like any living organism on the planet, you can only go so hard for so long. So what do you do when you can’t go hard? You recover. Some of the best ways to recover and still put in quality work is to work on your aerobic capacity at 80% of your relevant intensity for a longer period of time. Now this does not mean that you are going to move at 80% of how fast you would move at an all out sprint, this means that you are going to move at 80% if you were going to run 5 miles for time. They are completely different intensities and are relevant to the task at hand. Back to what I was saying. You should strive to put in 100% for two days in a row, cut it back to 80% for a day, and back to 100% for the next two days. Follow that pattern and see what happens.

In fitness everyone’s fitness levels are different than the person next to them. If you are very fit, you may be able to hold 100% longer than someone that is not as fit, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are still going to have to cut back for a day to recuperate the mind and body so you can get back to kicking ass. Now the hardest part is recognizing that, and understanding that you are trying to get as close to 90% as possible because 100% is impossible and 80% is necessary. Avoid the “junk” intensity and get away from finding yourself constantly stuck in this 70-85% range of intensity all the time. That can only work for a certain amount of time, but if you want the best grades in class you have to study a little harder to try and get a 100% on your test.

Is it possible to score 100% all the time, no it isn’t. Understand that and it will be easier to strive to hit that 90% every time. So know when to recover and know when to get uncomfortable, don’t get stuck in the middle.