Upper East Side

One key to progress is to give the body the stimulus it needs to improve, but not more. If you under-stimulate, you won’t benefit from any adaptive reconstruction (you won’t stimulate muscle growth). If you over-stimulate, you risk depleting your adaptation reserves quickly, leading to stagnation or regression.

In “Behind the Iron Curtain: Soviet Training ‘Secrets’ to Spark New Muscle Growth,” Christian Thibaudeau delves into the art of autoregulating training. The theory is simple: to achieve optimal progress, find the sweet spot between putting too much and not enough stress on your body.

It’s tempting to come in every day, especially when a workout pops up that’s right in your wheelhouse, but ultimately, that’s may not be the best strategy to improve.

The key to autregulating is to recognize and interpret what your body tells you. This takes some time, trial and error, but here’s a starting point: Answer the three questions below, add up the points and read the interpretation chart to see where you fall.

How do you feel?
Fantastic: + 4
Good: + 2
Average: 0
Bad: – 2
Awful: – 4

Are you motivated to train?
Beyond belief, let’s rock and roll!: + 4
Yes, I’m psyched to train: + 2
I wanna go, but that’s it: 0
Do I have to?: – 2
I really don’t want to train today: – 4

How did you sleep last night?
Great night of sleep: + 4
Slept pretty good: + 2
Average: 0
Had trouble sleeping: – 2
Barely slept at all: – 4

Interpretation chart
10 to 12 total = Increase the daily training load significantly (volume and average intensity)
6 to 9 total = Increase the daily training load (volume only)
0 to 5 total = Stay with the planned training load
-6 to -1 = Decrease the training load (volume or intensity)
-12 to -7 = Skip daily training

Do you do a version of autoregulating? What cues does your body give you? How do you feel most days? (Hint: If you’re worn down and training seems daunting, take a few days off. If you’re feeling fresh and ready to work, get to it!)

Try applying this to today’s workout and let us know how it goes.

36-minute EMOM:
Minute 1 – 12/15 calorie row
Minute 2 – 15 KB swings
Minute 3 – 20 overhead lunges
Minute 4 – 10 burpee box jumps
Minute 5 – 20 jump squats
Minute 6 – 10/12 calorie ski