As a trainer, it is important for me to know how much load I can apply to my clients based on how much recovery I can expect from session to session. Everyone has different parameter for how much they can tolerate so that the body can adapt to the load and intensity that was applied during their training session.
Chronic and Acute Workload
How much our body can tolerate the load will vary from person to person, depending on their activity level and also a lifestyle. In my clients training sessions, my focus is on the monitoring their average load their body was able to handle with proper technique in 4-6 weeks. This is called chronic load. This could be having my client, for example, to perform deadlift at 75% of max effort for 4-6 reps per set. If he/she can perform same workload for 4-6 weeks, then I’ll challenge my client to see if they can handle more load.
Initial increase of the load is called acute load. Then gradually as their body adapt to the new load then this becomes chronic load. This process may take 4-6 weeks. Increase of workload should be about 10%.
It is important to keep in mind that chronic load is a rolling average. Which means it will decrease while person is off from training for few weeks. This means the loading for any exercise may need to be lowered. Training will not going to be like reading where you can pick up where you left off. Therefore, when you come back from vacation, for example, you should lower the load and rebuild the tolerance.
Stress and Recovery
Recovery may vary due to stress applied to the body. This stress can be in a form of physical stress, environmental stress and mental stress. We all need some sort of stress to become stronger by adapting to the stress. In other words, we need to give our body a chance to recover from the stress. Strength training gives us adaptation to physical stress, where we can tolerate the load as the outcome. When you are in different climate, the body will work on adapting to the environmental stress. Our mentality can also become stronger when we can cope with and overcome the stressful situation. These 3 stress factors may also provide damage to our system when we are not able to tolerate and recover.
In strength training, we have tendency to focus on 100% effort every session. As munch as I can respect this mentality, however, 100% of effort all the time may lead to poor recovery which will lead to injury instead of adaptation. Imagine you are performing 100% load on your squat, deadlift or bench press during every session. Not only the body may not be able to perform in a proper technique but the stress applied to the body may not be recover either. Without proper recovery, body will not adapt to the stress and may lead into unnecessary injury.
Reason why we may not recover from the stress is due to one of the autonomic nervous system called sympathetic nervous system or also known as "fight-or-flight" nervous system. Sympathetic nervous system is important nervous system that allows us to focus and perform during physical activity, work, and any stressful (good or bad) environment. However, when sympathetic nervous system becomes dominant, the body does not know when to relax and have negative impact towards recovery. Not being able to regulate sympathetic nervous system can lead into, poor sleep, digestive issues, fatigue, hormonal imbalance and so on.
Key to Recovery: Sleep
Sleep is a hot topic in training industry. Studies have found that there is strong correlation between duration of sleep and risk of injury. More sleep duration (+7hr) you can get, you will have lower risk of injury. If you consider yourself as a short sleeper, chances are you may have muscle and tendon stiffness. Work on improving your sleep and work towards at least 7 hours of sleep per night.
To improve your sleep duration, schedule your bedtime and wake up time and stick to it. It is also helpful to keep the bed room cool (around 65F). Warm room temperature may interfere with falling asleep. Turn off all the electronic devices, including TV, cellphone, tablets, laptop, gaming devices 1-2 hour prior to the bedtime. Minimizing use of caffeinated products will also help sleep better.
Monitoring Workload on Your Own
If you are training on your own, it is important that the exercise technique must be ideal under the load you are working on. Poor technique may lead to compensating with the body mechanic which will increase the risk of injury. You can use video recording on your cellphone and record your reps and evaluate how you are doing. If you feel like your exercise skill need more work, increasing load will come much later.
It is also important to keep track of your progress. Some like to use app, I personally use notebook to keep track of my progress. Method of tracking is your choice. This will help you see how much improvement you have made and also able to look back to see what you can improve on next.
We see ads talking about 1-3 months process to see results, however, it does take more time for those who are looking at life long results. Rushing to increase load or compromising your recovery will only harm your progress. Take your time. Results are waiting for you.
Kota Shimada
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