Question of the week After 20+ years of training, what should be the major changes in your workout routine?
1. Volume
The honeymoon is over. Although there is a lot of variables that can get in the way such as work, kids, injuries, goals, etc. Getting results will always be about creating a balance. At the beginning, we can tolerate a lot more volume or amount of work. As we gain more experience, including injuries, my goal with everyone is trying to minimize the amount of work while trying to maximize the amount of rest, in other words, trying to achieve the perfect amount of work to rest ratio, not just intra set but in and out of the gym as well. Not an easy task as no one is the same, but doable if you understand the person in front of you (or the one you look at in the mirror) and all that needs to be done to achieve the desired goals while balancing out habits and life. Less is more, more often than not. Aim for quality not quantity.
2. Cardio
Nourish those mitochondria. If you can’t get a few flights of stairs without getting winded, you need to work on one of the biggest muscles you have, your heart. No, doing 10 to 12 reps is not considered cardio. You need to work on cardio capacity to drive those nutrients into the cells, no matter what some given experts says about losing your gains. Doing a little bit of HIIT training, at the end of your workouts, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, will get you more benefits than just lifting a few reps and calling it a workout.
3. Work/rest ratio
First, intra set. There are textbook needs and individual needs. Do a workout with the 75% max, rest 90 seconds as the usual rest to work ratio says. Then, do a workout with as much rest as you need. No given rest. Just go when you feel like it. That’s called instinctive training. Yep, might sound like shit advice, but try it out just for fun and even better, time it, just for fun. You’ll find that you’ll be able to go at around the same time, every set. For sure, the harder or higher the intensity, the longer you wait, no shit Sherlock, that’s also textbook. Do it, for the fun of it.
Finally, there is the work to rest ratio, as in every two days of workout, take one day off. At the end of the day, we must train smarter, and rest harder. If you train well enough, you’ll get the results you deserve. Getting older is not a matter of excuses, it is all about learning about yourself and applying the acquired knowledge to better yourself and blast past the desired results.
Coach Eric
