Intensity of Exercise

So I was at the gym with my friend Ross, and we were talking about the benefits of having a training partner to help you increase your level of intensity, and I thought this would be a good topic to touch on quickly on this site.

Exercise and fitness topics are something I intend to focus more on in our soon-to-come sister site (weightlossreflex.com), but fitness is still obviously a health topic and an important one.

Exercise intensity is something that I think is often misunderstood and mis-used, and unfortunately, can lead you to injury if you don’t know how to use it properly.

First off, more is not better.  And even more, is not even more better-er.   That’s the short version.

Intensity is just a tool, like any other tool, or a variable, like any other variable, in your training regimen.  And you should use it as such… just a tool, not something to be inordinately worshipped or pursued.  Like anything else, there’s pros and cons to high-intensity exercise.

Here’s the good stuff about intensity.  Intensity promotes growth.  The more intense the training, whether it be weight training, running, swimming, or whatever, the more your body will respond by sending out all of the signals it has to tell your body to grow… including the all-important Human Growth Hormone, which not only builds lean muscle mass and reduces fat, but basically keeps us young.  Everyone needs this hormone, so don’t think it’s just for bodybuilders or powerlifters or other large beefyish individuals.  Runners, bikers, swimmers, anyone, everyone, if you have a pulse, you want to stimulate your growth hormone levels.

Here’s the down side to intensity.  It tends to injure you.  It can do this all at once- like you try to lift a truck and your arms rip off at the shoulder socket- or over time.  This second way is called repetitive microtrauma and it basically means you’re breaking yourself down faster than you can build yourself back up.  It’s more common than you think.  In fact, a lot of the people who consult with me and are having trouble moving forward with their training, are actually overtrained, and need a rest!

Of course, they don’t want to hear this.  People in general want to pushpushpush forward to the next level, and in their impatience will often end up burning themselves out rather than let their body respond as it naturally, optimally does.  Then again, some people simply get stuck in a rut of doing the same thing, the same way, the same speed/weight/distance/course, and end up plateauing.  The pendulum can swing too far either way, my friends.

This is a huge topic, and I don’t want to turn this into a novel-long post, but what I will say is this.  Use the intensity level of your workout as something to play with.  If you’re reaching a stagnant level with your exercise- or are just plain getting bored- mix that up.  If you’re lifting weights, shock your body by suddenly going very heavy, then next time, go much lighter.  For runners, bikers, or other endurance athletes, try an intense day of nothing but intermittent sprinting/surging.

Then, give yourself a rest.  The more intense the exercise, the longer your body will need.  Follow up the intensity with a light day, or cross-train into a different body part or swimming stroke or what have you.  Use intensity as a shock tool, to shake up your body and tell it to grow and respond.

Just don’t think you can do it every day.  It just doesn’t work that way.  No pain, no gain, is crap.  You will make your gains through intensity, followed by exercise.

Now go out and play!