Training Plan: Quality Over Quantity

Training Plan: Quality over Quantity
Written by Tino Marini

“A plan should be used as a guide that can be modified based on the reality of the day.”

It’s incredible how our online community has grown throughout the years and to see people following from all corners of the world. We are extremely lucky to have such an amazing online presence but there is one huge issue – 99% of you guys do not live in San Diego!

CJ Martin isn’t joking when he says “You should all just move to San Diego.” It would mean we would be able to assess how you are feeling that day and adjust your program accordingly. In doing so it will help optimise productivity for that day. Recently CJ shared with me an article by Yasha Kahn which further confirms the need to be able to assess and adjust an athlete’s program based on how they feel. On a daily basis I will see athletes post in frustration that they were unable to hit their numbers and how, because they were unable to hit that number, they are a terrible athlete. What they fail to mention is that they were up all night with a sick child and had a deadline to meet at work. Or they are in the full swing of finals and are stressed for their last exam.

Well, damn, what do you expect?!

As the aforementioned article says, “We’re not machines that can be programmed. We are organisms. We change from day to day. We get sick. Sometimes we don’t get enough sleep. Our natural hormones change daily. Our moods change based on events in our lives.”

The majority of athletes seem to completely forget this when they enter the gym. That’s where a coach can intervene and make adjustments based on what they see and communicating with their athlete on how they feel.

The question is, what do you do if you haven’t got a coach to make an assessment for you? This is where you have to learn to auto-regulate and make an honest assessment and adjust accordingly. Sometimes you need to bite the bullet and miss out on an exercise or take an extra rest day. I know the majority of CrossFitters will see this as a cardinal sin but 99% of the time, taking that extra day to yourself or reducing the volume that day will greatly benefit you in the long run.

The new Invictus Athlete program has been a great success and we love watching all of the online community progress. It has allowed competitors the ability to pick and choose options based on their needs and spend time focusing on their problem areas as well as the areas that they need to continue to excel at. The majority in the community have real jobs and can’t train full time. So the options may be a blessing as they can get a 40 minute running or strongman session in if they are short on time. However, they could also be a curse as some feel the need to perform every aspect of the program even though they have two jobs and a family.

The most successful athletes are those who understand quality of work is more important than quantity of work. These athletes have the ability to auto-regulate and adjust their program to optimize performance for that day. Train smarter, not harder!