Good morning!
When many start out on a fitness journey, they are sometimes
super eager to get started! They want to do everything with the highest intensity, multiple times per week thinking it will make the results come faster. This couldn't be further from the truth - from a longevity standpoint but more importantly from an adaptation standpoint. Let's address it below:
Starting out balls to the walls with fitness is, correct, a bad idea when it comes to doing this long term. You'll usually burnout and get sick of it if you aren't a fitness junkie like I am. But the REAL and more scientific part of that is your adaptation to fitness. This goes for both aerobic (running, biking, walking, etc.) and anaerobic (weightlifting, powerlifting, power
training, etc.). You can't go crazy right out of the gate and sustain it because your body cannot adapt to that fitness style that quickly, both in trained and untrained individuals. It takes our body weeks and weeks and months sometimes to adapt to a different level of fitness activity we weren't accustomed to doing before. Thats why training programs are necessary. Thats why gradual increases in tempo, time, weight, length, intensity, etc. are necessary. This
is why I run programs for myself and clients for 6-12 weeks. Our body needs to be able to adapt to the fitness we are asking it to adapt to..this takes time. We see wayyyy too many injuries when people come out of the gate too hot, do way too much way too quickly, then are sidelined for longer now and are actually setting themselves back...plus the burnout effect as well.
It's great to be all excited about fitness...but ease into it. Let your body understand what you are trying to make it do. Let your energy system adapt and gradually get better at the activity you are trying to improve. Look at a few examples below. In strength & conditioning, this is referred to as the SAID
Principal, Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands - "The SAID principle constrains strength training and conditioning coaches in their program designs to achieve specific adaptations based on the demands put on the system gradually overtime."(NSCA S&C manual).
To build up to running overtime at low intensity:
(This is a super basic example of linear periodization)
Week 1: 5 mins
Week 2: 5 mins
Week 3: 7 mins(increase of 2 min)
Week 4: 7 mins
Week 5: 9 mins(increase of 2 min)
Week 6: 9 mins
*See how there is a gradual increase biweekly. This is building the capacity of running. This is telling your body to gradually push a little harder over time. This is sustainable.
To bench
press more weight over time:
(This is a super basic example of linear periodization)
Week 1: 100lbs x 5 reps
Week 2: 100lbs x 5 reps
Week 3: 105lbs x 5 reps (increase of 5lbs)
Week 4: 105lbs x 5 reps
Week 5: 110lbs x 5 reps (increase of 5lbs)
Week 6: 110lbs x 5 reps
*See how there is a gradual increase biweekly. This is building the
capacity of bench pressing. This is telling your body to gradually push a little harder over time. This is sustainable.
This is another reason why sometimes you may not feel "sore" after a session. AND THAT IS OK. You do not
need to be sore after every single session. Once in a while, sure - because you've tried a new exercise, done more than the previous session or a combination of things.
All in all, gradually increasing the workload over time is more sustainable
for your long term progress, injury prevention and ability to keep fitness in your life for the long haul. Yes the progress is slower, but the results will stay for longer.
