The first 90-180 days in the gym are amazing. You’re putting more weight on the bar each and every session. PRs all over the place. It’s a great time but what happens after that? The short version, you’ll work on executing programs that are a bit more conservative in their demanding of PRs.
Instead of daily or weekly PRs, it will look more like ~ monthly.
Approximating Your Physical Potential (they asymptote)
Approximating your physical potential but achieving it accounts for about 99% of all trainees, making the asymptotic reference appropriate. Life gets in the way, people get injured, sick, bored, and busy. Still approximating one’s potential has consequences.
You simply can’t PR every workout after some point. In short, the novice effect has concluded.
Slow(er) and Steady Wins the Race
Enter percentage based protocols. The idea here is simple, you’ll spend most of your training sessions working at submaximal levels of a previous (fairly recent) PR.
For example, here’s a useful set up:
WK1: Mon work to a heavy 5 rep max / Fri complete 3 sets of 5 reps @ 85%
WK2: Mon work to a heavy 3 rep max / Fri complete 4 sets of 3 reps @ 85%
WK3: Mon work to a heavy 1 rep max / Fri complete 4 sets of 1 rep @ 85%
This is just a simple 3-week wave, where you’re setting frequent PRs and then using the 2nd half of the week for your volume work based off the first half of the week. Pretty simple stuff.
Long Term Fitness
Training at limit intensities all the time is a short road to injury, burn out, or breakdown. Training is meant to be done over a very long period of time (ideally, your entire life). As such, more conservative programming must be used.
We realize this is in much contrast to more popular HIT methods and bootcamp approaches but again, we’re not here to get you sweaty or tired, we’re here to get you strong(er).
Training off track? Book a Meeting with one of our coaches and let’s get you setting PRs again 💪.
