My 3 best friends and why I love them (part 1)

Monday, October 25, 2010

A friend is someone who is there for you during good and bad times. Someone you can count on when the odds seem to be against you. I’m fortunate to say that I have 3 friends that I can count on during my workouts who help me keep in shape: Intensity, Duration and Frequency.

Sure, sometimes I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like, but I know that when I decide to focus on my training they are always there for me.  Like when Intensity makes my workouts challenging so I continue to improve, or when Duration, ensures my muscles are under tension just long enough to so I reach failure on every set, and Frequency, who keeps me on the perfect schedule so I get optimum recovery.

The truth is that if Intensity, Duration and Frequency are not your BFF’s, you are missing out on some great results. Although I love all my 3 friends, I admit that I have to take them in different dosages. I can’t have a workout with high intensity, high duration and high frequency. Its not humanly possible, and if you think it is, you really don’t understand how my friends interact with each other.

To help you better understand how each of my friends behaves I will talk to you about them, behind their backs, one at a time. Just keep it between you and I.

My relationship with Intensity is a great one. When I don’t have a lot of time I find that Intensity if even more important during my workouts. I know that the way I look, feel and function depends greatly on the type of training I do and that my body adapts to different levels of Intensity.

For example, if you are a long distance runner you would look, feel and perform very differently then a sprinter. Even though sprinting, might be similar to long distance running, athletes get very different adaptations from each exercise regiment.  The higher intensity workouts of a sprinter causes the human body to strengthen muscles, bones and to spend more calories, to compensate for the higher intensity training workload. The lower intensity workouts of a long distance runner causes the human body to shed both lean muscle and fat weight, to make it more energy efficient to carry the athletes weight for long distances. So a sprinter can, burn more calories and get stronger faster than a long distance runner. The key point is whether your goal is to be stronger, faster and leaner like a sprinter, or if you want to be smaller, have more endurance and able to run for long distances, you have the choose the right amount of intensity for your program.

There are times that I look forward to working out with Intensity so I can blow off some steam. I feel much more relaxed and focus after a tough workout. Training hard also gives me the confidence that I look better and that I can face my other daily tasks. A high intensity workout can do the same for you.

I know that sometimes my friend intensity gets a bed rap. “Too much intensity can be bad for you,” they say. While this is true, not having any or low intensity during workouts can be counter productive. No one gets leaner, healthier and stronger just for showing up. You have to train with Intensity. So find the right Intensity for your current fitness level and over time adjust it to you can make your fitness goals a reality.

To be continued…