Training Well Is Not Training to the Limit: Understanding Intensities
During many years, the idea of "training well" was confused with "training until you drop". The more tired, the more merit. The more suffering, better results. Today we know that this logic is not only limited but, many times, counterproductive.
What are training intensities?
Intensity is not just "how hard it seems". It is a combination of measurable and perceived factors:
• External load: weight, speed, power, volume, distance
• Internal load: athlete's physiological response (heart rate, lactate, RPE, fatigue)
Two athletes can do exactly the same workout and be at intensities completely different.
MED — Minimum Effective Dose
In training, more is not better.
Better is the minimum necessary to generate adaptation.
The Minimum Effective Dose (MED) represents the smallest amount of stimulus capable of provoking a positive adaptation, whether in strength, aerobic capacity, technique or structural resilience.
Why does training always to the limit not work?
Training constantly at high intensity generates three main problems:
1. Limits adaptations
The body adapts to specific stimuli. If everything is intense, nothing is really trained optimally. The aerobic base, for example, does not develop in maximum effort, but in moderate and controlled zones.
2. Increases injury risk
Elevated fatigue reduces motor control, something that is easy to observe in class when the technique starts to "fall apart" even in simple movements.
3. Compromises consistency
Results come from repeated exposure to the stimulus, not from isolated heroic sessions. Too intense workouts will require longer recovery periods, which will make your ability to perform be reduced in future sessions, leading sometimes to psychological wear.
The importance of different intensity zones
Low intensity
• Development of the aerobic base
• Improvement of metabolic efficiency
• Active recovery
Essential for building a base and sustaining higher volumes in the future.
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Moderate intensity
• Technique consolidation under controlled fatigue
• Increase of tolerance to effort
• Key zone for safe progression
It is a good time to start testing the volume and the skills that you built previously, under a higher intensity.
High intensity
• Development of power, speed and VO₂max
• Strong neuromuscular stimulus
• Must be punctual, planned and recovered
Used punctually to test, consolidate and elevate performance, never as a starting point, always as a consequencea.
The most common error: confusing effort with efficacy
Feeling exhausted at the end of the workout is not synonymous with quality. Many times it is just a sign of poor load management.
An effective workout responds to three questions:
1. What is the objective of this session?
2. Does this intensity serve that objective?
3. Does it allow me to return to repeat tomorrow or later?
If the answer to the last is "no", something is wrong.
Conclusion
Training to the limit may have its place. Training always to the limit no.
Sustainable results come from:
• Well distributed intensities
• Conscious progression
• Consistency over time
At CrossConnect, training well means more than sweat: it is creating CONNECTION with your family, caring for your HEALTH, INCLUSION and OVERCOMING. Intensity, consistency and conscious progression, guided by our 4 fundamental values.
Scientific References
• Seiler, S. (2010). What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.
• Seiler, S., & Tønnessen, E. (2009). Intervals, thresholds, and long slow distance: the role of intensity and duration in endurance training. Sportscience.
• Foster, C. et al. (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
• Halson, S. L. (2014). Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes. Sports Medicine.
• Issurin, V. (2010). New horizons for the methodology and physiology of training periodization. Sports Medicine.
• Bompa, T., & Haff, G. (2009). Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training. Human Kinetics.