DIAL IT IN: TRAINING WON"T ALWAYS BE IDEAL

newsletter Jan 19, 2023

By Eric Bugera

Training is unfortunately not the only factor influencing your gains.

Acknowledging training, nutrition, sleep, and stress as intertwined influences helps guarantee greater progress over time.
Set up a lifestyle that supports your recovery just as much as training.

Main Character Syndrome

It’s common to view oneself as the outlier. Be it from a genetic, discipline, or even simply pain tolerance perspective – many of us think that we somehow operate outside of reasonable expectations of progress. More specifically, we believe (either consciously or unconsciously) that we are not threatened by the same external variables that may halt our progress from time to time.

Training quality and frequency can rightfully monopolize the majority of mental energy when it comes to program design – but there are still several underappreciated aspects to predicting ongoing progress. Outside of the initial wave of newbie gains, dialing in certain key components and keeping them all aligned for an extended period of time is the real missing link for long-term prosperous training.

The Unsexy Three

With training accounted for, three key factors still remain to drive the progress you wish to see. Nutrition, sleep (or recovery more broadly), and stress management. While each factor deserves a deep dive and should be tailored to your specific needs and circumstances – taking stock of some important information regarding each variable can help get the ball rolling.

Nutritionally speaking, two major details should be monitored to help supply your recovery with adequate resources for growth. Total protein and Calorie intake (and in some situations, carbohydrates) must be properly allocated to support the goal you set out to achieve with training. Without the right amount of Calories you will struggle to gain or lose weight, and without adequate protein you are immediately hampering your capacity to build maximal muscle or potentially the pace of your recovery from strenuous workouts.

Second, sleep and sleep quality are major players in your recovery and should be prioritized in order to string together the longest run of productive training possible. The sweet spot of sleep duration is a bit variable between individuals, but the major take-away of prioritizing and regularly achieving high quality restful sleep can not be understated. Loss of sleep quality or a decrease in sleep quantity are two surefire ways to lose out on the pace of progress.

Stress and stress management fall into this category as well. Although more nebulous than nutrition and sleep – stress can be a highly individualized experience that can bleed into the ability to train, recover, or otherwise manage your time effectively. Without getting into the biochemical realm of stress hormones and their impact on the body – the simple understanding that stress having a negative impact on training, sleep, nutrition, or any number of other factors should be enough to want to stay on top of it.

Lifestyle Is Everything

It would be much simpler if our gains were solely predicated on training intensity. It’s not difficult for most experienced lifters to get into the gym and hit it hard – but as your training progresses, often you will find that there will be waves of progress and stagnation. The non-training variables of nutrition, sleep, and stress can often play a role in stifling some of your expected progress either directly or indirectly based upon their impact on your training or recovery. Every person who lives a life outside of the vacuum of training will begin to factor these variables into their results at some point. The longer you can keep these “fader details” all tuned into the same frequency – the longer and more uninterrupted your expectations of progress can become.

Set a plan for sleep – block of time and seek to improve quality where necessary.
Manage your nutrition to match your goal – an audit by a nutritionist or dietitian may be helpful here.
Although training hard can be fun, relaxing and living as stress free as you can is the silent killer or facilitator of many gains.