Training is Stress

Joel Younkins

I'm extremely confident that we're all familiar with stress. We've all experienced it on different levels and on different extremes. We stress about things like, dealing with your boss, dealing with a break up, being stuck in traffic, being mad at someone, etc. 

We also should realize that stress is a silent killer. Prolonged stress can lead to health conditions and diseases if not treated properly. You see, your body hates being stressed for long periods of time, this is when things start to break. Your body likes to operate in homeostasis, which is your "normal" functioning state. When chronic stress builds up for too long, bad things start to happen.

Now, as you were reading that paragraph I hope that I didn't freak you out and make you think that your training is going to break you or give you a disease.

There is also stress that we deal with that can be positive for us. Imagine riding a roller coaster; you're scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. But it's over and done with in a short period. After the ride you feel more alive than ever because of the adrenaline rush. This is a positive stress experience!

Training is simply applying a stress to your body, and planning to allow for a positive adaption to happen. We see the Bench Press as a Bench Press. Our bodies see it as something that is trying to kill us. So internally, things happen so that we can press the weight back up. After this stress response happens, the body will repair itself so that it will be prepared for this danger to happen again. This is how we get stronger and in better shape! 

How can this go wrong for us? I'm going to give you a few points on how this concept won't work for us if we screw this up...
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• Training too often or training the same body part too much can cause injury because we don't give it enough time to recover. Your body will see this as a negative stress experience and it can lead to stagnation in progress or even worse injury.
• Training not enough will lose its effect because if your body doesn't see training as a stress (threat to the body). It will essentially forget about that one time you Bench Pressed in your buddies basement.
• Just like with the above point, training is a "use it or lose" concept. Different means of training have longer lasting results than others. But just realize that if you stop training, your progress will start to diminish. This can start to happen with certain abilities as soon as in a week.

So what do you need to do with this information? Good question! You need to realize that training is a stress and that you need to be able to positively respond to it. Here's a few key points to take away from all of this!
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• Make sure that you're recovering from training and giving your body time to rest and recover. You should be training 2-4 times a week. If you're going over 4 it should be very closely monitored by a professional! 
• Your main barbell lifts should only be done, 1-2 times a week. For example, Bench 2 times a week, Squat once a week, and Deadlift once a week. Again, if more than this, it should be closely monitored by a professional.
• You should have planned training phases throughout the year. Meaning different goals/objectives at different times of the training year.
• You should have planned deload weeks every 3-6 weeks. 
• You're training shouldn't be full tilt all of the time. Only max out or test yourself just a couple times out of the year. Preferably less is better, and it should not be on the extreme end of every other week! 

If you want more information, or want help with training, CLICK RIGHT HERE!

​Cheering for YOU!
-Joel

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