"Instinctive Training" Theory - eat as much as possible, sleep whenever possible...run away from danger

If we followed our instincts we certainly wouldn’t exercise.  Arthur Jones, founder of Nautilus and  MedX exercise equipment, had this to say about following our instincts:

“For anything even approaching the best possible results from training, it is absolutely essential to work in direct opposition to your instincts. If you followed your instincts, you would do quite a number of things -- eat as much as possible, sleep whenever possible, defecate, fornicate, lie, brag, steal, run away from danger or fight if simply forced to or if faced with an obviously inferior foe in possession of something that you desired, and avoid any form of physical labor -- but you wouldn’t lift weights.” [Nautilus Bulletin # 1, Chapter 20]

Lifting weights stresses the body, and it is metabolically expensive.  Calories are expended exercising, recovering from that exercise, and restructuring as a result of the stress on the body. It runs counter to our instinct for self preservation.  Our body sends us strong signals to stop – our muscles burn, our breathing is rapid - just when the exercise is getting productive. 

Getting to the point to where strength training is productive is hard to do on your own. The exercise is often terminated early or form deteriorates and injuries result. At our Austin Strength Training facility we take care of every detail and help you maintain form to get you safely to the point where the exercise is productive. Our goal is to give you a workout you cannot get on your own.

This is a program people of any age or condition can do, and it does not take a lot of your time.  In fact, those who are most out of shape have the most upside potential because they start at a lower baseline. 

Each week you’ll come and you do at little more than your body is used to handling and over time the changes will be transformational. The long list of health benefits and fitness benefits  will motivate you stick to it even though, ironically, your instincts are telling you to do otherwise. 

High intensity training - how often should one train?"

When the body is exposed to more of a stimulus that it is equipped to handle the body will makes a positive adaptation as a form of self-protection. That change will occur if the body has the capacity to change plus the needed time and resources to recover. Too much of the stimulus and too little time to recovery can produce a negative result – tanning versus burning or an increase in strength versus over-training and resulting weakness. Just like everyone has a different tolerance to exposure of the sun, each person has a different tolerance for high intensity strength training frequency.

With high intensity training there are those for whom twice a week will produce ongoing results while others would suffer under such a regime. For those who need more recovery time working out twice a week results in ruining two workouts, If you will not have fully recovered from your first workout, the second workout will be sub-par as you are not at full capacity. You will not improve, and you will have wasted valuable time and effort.

Working all the major muscle groups in a high intensity fashion once a week works best for most people. One of our clients trains every nine to ten days. You say surely that person can’t achieve peak strength training that infrequently. While it might not be optimal for others, it really works for him. He does 1000 pounds on the leg press, and he uses the stack on several other machines. A person that strong can put greater stress on the body that may require a longer recovery time.

Through trial and error you can eventually find out what works. I spent years figuring it out. At Austin TX Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers our personal trainers have developed a high intensity training program (HIT) with special attention paid to recovery to insure that the improvements are ongoing – our business depends on it. We cannot afford to have clients come in and ruin two workouts in a row by not being adequately recovered.