I am not trying to make light of the term overdose – that is a serious thing and in certain circles it can be fatal. Thankfully that is not what we are talking about here, in this situation, it could result in an injury, that’s all.
You are passionate, it is one of the things I love about you; but sometimes it makes me crazy.
I had a message from one of you after I posted the Pistol Flow, he was getting hip pain with certain movements. You might recall that the recommended dose was two reps each way.
He was pretty excited to tell me “I did 7 of those each way with no pain”. Again, I LOVE the enthusiasm, but please do not let your enthusiasm lead you to overdose.
When I say do two each way, I mean “I think two is the right volume for this exercise”. If I was prescribing this exercise to Carey Price, I would prescribe two.
Just like if you went to the doctor and she gave you a prescription for what ails you. You wouldn’t go back the next day and say “I took the whole bottle!”
See what I mean.
Now, I know this goalie was just trying to test out the hips and see how it felt, he also probably did not know what I am going to tell you and I know he is not alone . I am trying to save you from yourself.
You confuse how many with how well
I see it in all my programs, you confuse doing more of something with doing it well. You think that doing more is better because, well… it’s more!
“If Maria says eight, I am going to do 15!”
Not the case at all. The dose is the dose. If you are trying to build strength in your big muscles (push, pull, squat movements) and you can do eight with perfect form, then you would increase the load and stay at eight reps.
Increasing the number of reps turns a great prime strength exercise into a muscular endurance exercise – not what we are looking for.
If Stability is the goal
If you are working stabilizers – let’s say you are doing some shoulder rotation for your rotator cuff, then you want to feel the muscle just starting to fatigue during the last few reps of the set. If you are using good movement and getting that onset of fatigue in the last 2-4 reps, then you are good.
You do not need to increase the load. If you are new to the exercise and not really ‘feeling it’, then chances are better than not that you are doing it wrong. Stabilizing exercises can be a little fussy. Try repositioning and go again.
If you were feeling the onset of fatigue in the last 2-4 reps, but now you don’t really fatigue at all by the time you get to 12 reps, THEN it is time to increase the load slightly without sacrificing form.
Hope that helps. Don’t lose that passion and enthusiasm I love, just know how it applies to your training.
Cheers,
M