TUES: One Octuple Espresso, Please

(Scroll down for Tuesday workout.) 

I’m guessing you’re a coffee drinker, or at the very least, familiar with the concept. You wake up, you need some pep, so you caffeinate. You are trying to achieve a desired outcome, so you select a stimulus and dose yourself accordingly.

I’ll take another stab, here. You’ve probably never ordered an octuple espresso. You likely know what your ideal amount is and if you’re like me, you drink out of the same mug nearly every day because the dose amount is predictable. Maybe you’ve asked for an extra shot or two on days where you have a lot on your plate and need a bigger boost, but it likely ends there. You understand dosing and if you serve yourself eight shots of espresso, you’re likely going to overdose the caffeine and get the opposite effect you intended. Jittery, crashing, and depleted.

You’re a member, here. You’re smart. I am not going to insult your intelligence by continuing this analogy because I’m sure you’ve made the connection to what I’m getting at. Stimulus efficacy is all in the dosing, so why, if we understand that dosing matters, do we consider daily abuse of our body’s productive towards our goals? These workouts here are not slow jogs. They push, they challenge, and they create stress in order to yield adaptation, but the dose is not needed daily. We want to get stronger, and we know that lifting heavy weights gets us strong, so that means we must do it daily, right? We want to improve our 10k, and we know what running long distances helps that, so we must do it daily, right?

I’d offer up to you that the answer to those questions is a resounding no. Not unless we want an overdose in the form of fatigue, injury, or corrosive results rather than fortifying. We must understand the Law of Diminishing Returns, that at some point more effort does not equate to more results, and in fact can instead produce the octuple espresso reverse effect. We must find that sweet spot of individual threshold, where we push just hard enough, expose ourselves to just enough stimulus to get the desired outcome and adaptation, not a jittery crash.

It’s different for all, I wouldn’t pretend to have a standardized prescription. I’d just tell you to pay attention to your coffee orders. Proverbially speaking, of course.

-Dave

Tuesday 12.11.17

First, for Technique.
Work on Erg Rowing Mechanics
(x15 Min)
Move slowly and deliberately.
—
Then, for Conditioning.
10:1
Push-Ups
Heavy Goblet Squats
Rope Jumping Jacks
100m Run