Consistency vs Intensity
…which one is more important?
Consistency. Consistency is THE most important marker for whether someone will get better in the long run. The person who can average 3 sessions every week, will improve way more than the person who does 5 sessions for 4 weeks, then gets injured or goes on holiday and then gets out of the habit and doesn’t come at all for another 6 weeks, then only makes it in every other week for a single session for another month.
We see this time and time again, people get out of the routine with illness, or a holiday. And then they struggle with the motivation, and what should have been a week off, turns in to a month.
I get it, life happens. Things come up. Kids, work, family and friends, Injury, illness, holidays etc.
Suddenly what was a habit, becomes a chore, something that’s difficult to do again. Maybe you gained a couple of KG’s in that time off as well, you’re not feeling your best. It’s cold, and the gym just doesn’t have that same appeal.
All I can tell you is, that the hardest part is just getting out the door. I can tell you that no one else can see those extra KG’s, they’re too focused on what they’re doing. And I can tell you that once you get those first couple of workouts back in, that it get’s a hell of a lot easier.
You’ve got to look for that reason to get out the door. Don’t let the programming be an excuse, don’t think about it being cold (we have heating now, so that’s not even a good excuse anymore). Just get out the door, and show up. We can dial it back and make sure you have a fun session if you let us know you need that.
Those who can do this quickly, and keep the habit going, will see the results in the long term!
INTENSITY
However, if you’re working well below capacity, and aren’t pushing yourself hard in a few of those sessions, then you’re likely to stop improving after a period of time. On the flipside, if you’re absolutely crushing yourself every session, you will burn out and get hurt.
Ok, so what does that actually look like? As stated in the ‘how often should I train?’ post, we recommend a minimum of 2 sessions a week. 3 is a great place for many of our older athletes, 4 is great for those under 40 (time permitting).
How hard should I be pushing in my sessions? As a ball park, most sessions should be a 7-8 out of 10 effort. So, let’s say we’re doing 5x5 back squats, that means ALL 5 sets should be hard, with the last rep of the last set being pretty close to failure. However, we DON’T actually want to fail if possible. Missed reps every now and then, fine. But every session? We’re pushing ourselves too hard, and will likely start to feel burnt out. On the flipside, if the coach is recommending you to put more weight on the bar, it’s because we can see that you’re moving well, and can do more!
How hard should I be pushing in my workouts? Ideally, most workouts, you should be able to maintain your pace throughout. That means that round 1 is within 10s of the time taken of round 5. This is probably the BIGGEST area that our members could improve in. Quite simply, you guys just go out far too hard! Having jumped in on many a class, I’m always surprised how fast everyone moves out the blocks. If you’re beating a coach by 30s in round 1 who you know is fitter than you, somethings way off with your pacing.
The best way to think of it is this, if I’m going to run for 15 minutes, I’m not going to sprint my first 200m. If I do, I’m going to slow down more and more as I go. I want to find a pace I can maintain for the workout, and if possible, speed up at the end.
So the next time you’re doing burpees and rowing, think about the last time you did it. Think about the speed of your burpees AT THE END of that workout. Think of the row pace you were holding in the last 2 minutes. And try to move at that speed TO START. Then, if you’re feeling good in the last 2 minutes, you can go faster there! This is the absolute KEY to improving your cardio and workout times within CrossFit.
If you want further proof of this, go and watch Rich Froning or Tia Clair-Toomey workout on youtube, and see the way they maintain pace through the entire duration of their workouts. And how they’re not in a heap on the floor at the end. If the repeat champs are doing this in their sport, it’s probably something to think about trying!