Everyone wants to be a "Balls to the Wall" kind of gymgoer. I am sure "NO ONE" trains harder than you, or is as INTENSE as you.
We all want to break our PRs every time we chalk up and tighten up. As true as that might be, it's a ridiculous thought and needs to be shattered before you burn the fuck out.
I was chatting with Ed Coan one day, and the G.O.A.T. told me that breaking Personal Records should be saved for the platform during competition.
My gym has a Cross-fit element along with MMA, BJJ and Muy Thai fighting. Jesse Burdick and I have Powerlifters, Athletes from the High School Level up through Pro's, and hard-charging people that want to look great naked so there is no short supply of "Bad-Ass" inside our doors.
When I hear about breaking a PR or giving it everything they have, I am reminded of the old-time Soviet weightlifter Vasily Alekseyev.
You see, Alekseyev could have PR'd and broken every World Record that he already owned, BUT...had he really maxed it out he would have left many perks behind. In the old Soviet program, if you broke a World Record you were given a bonus by Politico. You may have gotten a better car, or a better apartment, nicer equipment, who knows...maybe even money. So instead of going for his MAX which might have been 20 or 25 kilos more, he would break his own world record by a single kilo. That way, he could add to his World Record damage with more frequency and thus get more perks.
I mention the Navy S.E.A.L.s training. The SEALS fucking KILL YOU! (and if they like you, they bring you back to life. Kidding) But they actually DROWN the candidates. THAT my friends is giving it your all, 100%
We THINK we're giving it our all, but that number, in reality, is about 40%.
I'm not saying that you have to ramp the training up 60% more. Hell, I'm not even insinuating that the training needs to be intensified by 25%. But what if you opted for a 5% improvement today, and another 5% tomorrow? You would then SLOWLY add to your program success and that way you could stay with it longer. Staying with it longer will result in more of those "perks" that Vasily Alekseyev received.
Those small successes will keep you from hitting a GREAT ONE-TIME achievement and then have to live with the boring stagnation of being unsuccessful in breaking through that.
I pulled down a 5 lbs plate off the rack and asked my participants what they see. They tell me "a weight", "Five Pounds", or just stare at me like I have dreadlocks.
I tell them, that what I see is countless hours of investment. I see pulled and strained muscles. I see injuries and disappointment. I see frustrations and questionable ability. Because to increase a mere FIVE POUNDS when you have reached your absolute max does exactly what I described.
Try to improve by a smaller amount tomorrow.
Be 5% better!
Today's Training:
*Prowler: 10x80 yds x + additional 30 lbs with less rest intervals
Inverted Kettle Bell OHP: 4x10
Kettle Bell Side Lateral Swings: 4x10 Raise the KB to a 45-degree angle out to the side with a straight arm. Don't let it hit your "jewels" on the way back down
DB Front Raise: 4x10
Shrug: 4x15
BB Curl: 3x8
DB Preacher Curl: 3x8
*Cycle: Commute; 27 mins