Weekly musings, 3/5/17: biofeedback and training

Weekly musings, 3/5/17
A hard workout is gratifying. It makes you feel like you’ve done something. You feel yourself getting stronger/faster/more capable as the session goes on, until, just when you feel like you have nothing left to give, it’s over.

But how do you know when you’ve reached the tipping point? When is the hard workout no longer building you up; instead, it’s tearing you down?

In his book “Ultimate Athleticism,” Max Shank has a simple test he suggests to make sure your exercise selection and/or workout is beneficial: touch your toes before your workout and touch your toes after. If your toe touch gets worse, the stimulus or exercise is too much for your nervous system. Re-evaluate your exercise selection or programming before your next workout. If your toe touch stays the same or improves, you are optimizing the benefits of your training.

This technique is brilliant in its simplicity and easy to implement. If your goal is maximizing strength and motor control, take 45 seconds to check your nervous system response and adapt your workout as needed.