MYTH: I need to lift everyday to get stronger.
TRUTH: Just 2-3 days of strength training is effective!
For as common as the saying "quality over quantity" is, fitness practices might be one of the greatness victims for opposing that mantra. In the same vein, you also know what they say about "too much of a good thing..." But we'll stop while we're ahead.
Mantras and cliches aside, prioritizing quality over quantity will make your training more effective in the long run. For starters, your body is going to adapt better if it's moving how it's meant to. Our friends over at FMS say it best – "move better, move often." During our initial assessments, we test you in positions like squatting with the stick over your head and putting your fists behind your back. We are checking for your baseline quality of movement so that we could determine a starting point for training. Quantity was not a concern at that point!
With that in mind, it would actually be a disservice for you to be training far above what your body is ready for just to check "working out every day" off your to-do list. Your body could be put at risk of compensatory movements (or worse – injury!) if you start high-volume training without ensuring it's high quality. Furthermore, higher quantity means higher volume, which means higher recovery demands overall.
If you can focus on 2-3 solid days of quality strength training, you will reap greater benefits than lifting every day. By building a strong and resilient foundation, the build up to more load and volume will be far more effective!
Send us some questions! We're here to support you through it all and optimize your performance!
