Training is overrated :)

[ollie]

@Szyzzlin

I’ve been a big-time CF follower for years regarding his training principles. Most of my weekly workouts come straight out of the CFTS with 2/3 speed sessions, 3 tempo sessions, heavy weights.

Recently I’ve been “forced” to study and I have only been able to workout maybe 1 or 2 times per week (maybe a speed and a tempo session). I lift weights about once every 2 weeks. I’ve noticed something amazing due to the lack of training. I feel AMAZING during my training sessions or when I play sports. There’s absolutely no residual fatigue. I’m not stiff at all from doing heavy squats/weights.

I recently played a hockey game and I was absolutely flying out there. Never felt fatigued at all (which is very unusual). My speed was great and I had amazing endurance. The only weight lifting I did in the last 2 weeks prior was 3 sets of pull-ups and 30 push-ups x 2 (hahaha…) and this is unusual because I’m normally a heavy bench, squats, compound lifts guy. I haven’t even done a single sit-up in a month and I’m normally into tempo+tonnes of ab work.

It makes you wonder if your body can “really” recover from hard training sessions (eg. speed & weights, numerous times throughout the week). Is it possible to recover from a squat session in 7 days? Is it valuable to do more than 1 speed session/wk? Is there a point in weight work at all. Is there even a point in training hard?

I remember Charlie would always mention that many athletes would pb when coming back from an injury. Maybe there is alot more to this than we think.

I remember the days when I’d “see how I felt” in the gym and go from there. Once I switched to an every 5th day cycle, every day was a good day in the weightroom. I’d always make progress, usually by increasing the weight and when I didn’t it was time to change.

That was in 1997 and that’s when I began to question the 48 hour rule and also the approach to strength training used by many track coaches. Trying to cover too many bases with the strength workouts and not allowing enough recovery time, particularly for the lower body.

For what it’s worth, I helped a 31 year old sprinter get back to within 98% of his PR for 55 meters in 4 months and this was after a 3 year layoff from the sport. I think it would have been 99% if not for a late night at the disco-early squat workout-inspired minor back strain. I’m convinced it was related to the above.