Training needs to be hard. Sometimes. Although you shouldn’t subscribe to the “no pain, no gain” motto, there is a time to push yourself if you want to be a stronger, faster, and fitter athlete. If you’re stuck in a training rut and not improving, then maybe it’s time to change things up and push yourself a bit more. After all, if you’re not seeing progress in your training, you’re doing something wrong.
*This article is for those who want to take their fitness to the next level and not just talk about how many miles they ran over the weekend in their Hokas. It’s for those who want to be better athletes and push themselves to be more fit. If that’s not you, this Sock Doc article may be a bit much. Of course, now you’re going to read more either way.
Lack of Progress, Lack of Adaptation
It’s not uncommon for athletes to train, and train, and train some more and not achieve the results they should be seeing. Sure, you’re not going to see improvements daily or even weekly, but overall, you should be improving. This is true at almost any age, though of course there are obvious exceptions. I realize that at 70 years old, you probably won’t see dramatic gains, especially the gains you saw in your 30s. But plenty of people think their lack of progress or a downward turn in fitness is due to their age: “I’m just getting older.”
Reading about age-related fitness physiology, like muscle loss, VO2 max decline, or other fitness aspects, leads many to believe it’s normal and perfectly acceptable to get less fit as they age. Though I don’t disagree that these physiological processes naturally occur in even healthy individuals, I also think that everyone is assuming one big thing—that you’re already in peak shape. Guess what? You’re probably not.
So how do you know if you’re in peak fitness? Well, you don’t. As athletes, we’re always striving to improve. We want to run faster, run longer, lift heavier, jump higher, and do more with less time. That’s human nature. And it’s a great attribute to have. Exercise is all about adaptation. Yet while so many athletes out there have stopped adapting, they keep doing what they’re doing, over and over and over again.
Lack of progress doesn’t necessarily mean you train more. This is the common mistake so many long-distance athletes make. They aren’t seeing improvements running 40 miles a week, so they run 50. And when 50 doesn’t do it, they run 60. Then they get injured and scratch their heads, wondering what they did wrong.
Not only should you be improving as your miles increase, but your health should not be suffering. You shouldn’t get sick or injured or mentally drained from your training. Sure, we all have our good days and bad, but overall, they should be very good. Although peak fitness and peak health are often inversely related, you don’t want to constantly destroy your health for the temporary gain of fitness.
Likewise, if your training is progressing effectively, you should see positive changes in your health, including body composition. You should get leaner. Yes, even if you aren’t exercising to lose weight (fat), you should be losing some body fat if you’re increasing your time exercising. Yet I’ve seen so many people train for a marathon or Ironman, increasing their mileage substantially, and they don’t lose one pound. I’ve even seen some people gain weight. If you are this slightly (or very) plump endurance athlete and you’re not getting somewhat leaner, then you’re doing something wrong.
If you think I’m saying it’s not normal to run a lot of miles and still be overweight, then yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s not right. I applaud you for being outside and moving rather than sitting at home watching TV all day, that’s not my point this time. Logging in mile after mile and not seeing any positive change is better than doing nothing, but you’re not adapting. Your fitness and health are, at best, constant. And as you age, which you are, you will be that person who suddenly gets slower and slower, fatter and fatter, and injured more often. Maybe this is already you.
Don’t Be So Impatient
Aerobic conditioning is still the foundation of your health and fitness, especially when it comes to anything involving endurance. My philosophy here hasn’t changed. You need to put in the time to build that stellar aerobic conditioning I talk about all over this site. If that’s new to you or you need a refresher, then check out this info on aerobic conditioning.
Most people want to train harder (anaerobic) way too soon. They don’t realize that their aerobic system is not well developed, and they want to train harder and harder. No need to talk more about this since it’s been addressed in many other places on the Sock Doc site. Don’t be impatient to build your aerobic system, your “base.” It’s vital if you want to be fit and healthy. If you only want to be fit, go to some other site to learn how to do more in less time and then come back here when you’re injured.
Yet, eventually, if you’re doing everything right, then you have to train harder. You have to go above your comfort zone and put in some high-intensity interval training (HIIT). You can’t do aerobic training forever if you want to be a better athlete. The question isn’t whether you’re ready to train harder, but how to know when you’re ready.
Signs and Symptoms You’ve Done Too Much Low Intensity
The obvious sign that you need to change your training and start incorporating some anaerobic training is that you’re not getting any faster at the same intensity (HR and perceived exertion). This is explained more in the aerobic article mentioned previously. However, there are some other ways to know if you need to step it up and push your body a bit harder, and these signs and symptoms should correlate with the lack of fitness progress.
Often, the endocrine system suffers when you train too much, even at a low aerobic intensity. Of all the endocrine organs, the thyroid gland seems to be impacted the most. Where are the studies to prove this? I don’t think there are any; it’s been my personal and clinical observation for the past 15 years. If you’re running your thyroid down, you will start to have a deep “bone-cold” chill in your body, often at night when you’re trying to sleep. You also might notice that you’re losing a bit more hair while shampooing in the shower, and perhaps some of your fingernails are becoming slightly brittle. Also, and in line with what I have previously addressed, you will not only not lose body fat, but you also might feel (or look) a bit pudgier; call it less lean if you like.
Here’s a case history of me, the Sock Doc.
After six weeks of steady training, 95% of which was aerobic, my maximum aerobic function test time was no longer improving. I ran my 8.6-mile loop and was stuck at 62 minutes while maintaining my aerobic 152 HR. During this run, I felt really strong and fast, but the time was telling a different story. Around the same time period, I noticed I was really cold a couple of nights while sleeping. I had to pile on blankets, but still felt a chill. One night while out running, even though it was cold out (in the low 20s), I just couldn’t warm up. I also noticed that I wasn’t getting any leaner with my increased aerobic frequency. I knew I was doing too much aerobic and running my thyroid down a bit. This phenomenon rarely shows up in blood work, though I had my TSH, T4, and T3 serum levels checked just to see. (They were all normal.)
Train Harder
So what did I do? Train more? Of course not. It was time to cut down the volume and increase the intensity. The nice thing about HIIT training is that you’re done much faster—often 30-minute workouts rather than hours of training. I like to push myself just to the point of nausea on some workouts. Hey, that’s me. You can do hill repeats, sets of track intervals, fartleks, or a variety of other workouts—take your pick. Here’s what I did:
Monday: 30 min.: Intervals 3X400m w/2-min. recovery; then 3X200m w/1-min. recovery
Tuesday: No running; MovNat drills
Wednesday: 48 min.: Intervals 5X50 sec. hill intervals
Thursday: Off
Friday: 35 min.: Intervals 10X45 sec. with 45-sec. rest
Saturday: 30 min.: Intervals 10X20 secs with 1-min. rest
Sunday: Off
*By the end of this week, my “bone-cold” feeling was gone and I was already getting faster.
Monday: No running; MovNat drills
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 40 min.: Intervals 3 min.-2 min.-1 min. (same rest period); 2 sets
Thursday: 35-min. easy aerobic run
Friday: Off
Saturday: 30 min.: Intervals 10X30 secs with 30-sec. rest
Sunday: 30 min.: Intervals 5X50 sec. hill intervals
*By the end of this week, I felt like I had new power in my legs.
Monday: No running; MovNat drills
Tuesday: 25 min.: Intervals 6X20 secs
Wednesday: Sledding workout with kids (snow day!)
Thursday: Off
Friday: 25 min.: Intervals 6X20 secs
Saturday: 20-mile mountain trail race
Sunday: Rest
*This third week of high intensity was a bit less training than what I would have usually done due to the 20-mile trail race I was preparing for.
Monitor Improvements and Know When to Back Off
I typically advise a block of anaerobic training to last no more than six weeks. For most, though, even that is pushing it, especially if you’re putting in three to four workouts a week. My body often says enough after four weeks. You have to monitor your progress (and there should be progress!) and how you feel overall. Your fitness should only be improving as you train with HIIT. If it’s not, then don’t keep training hard; it’s not for you right now. Most likely if this is the case, then there is some underlying health problem that needs to be addressed—typically some hormonal imbalance that you are making worse with your current training program.
As you go through a series of high-intensity training, you should not only become more fit, but you should also feel better overall. Your sleep should improve (or at the very least not get worse), you should have abundant energy, an active libido, and a sharp mind. If you notice that you feel more tired, groggy, achy, or if you crave sugar, salt, or caffeine, then you’re most likely stressing out your adrenal glands too much. Back off before you get injured or sick.
Of course, as you change your training for the better and adapt to a higher level of fitness (and health), you should get leaner. If you’re doing all this and not shedding some fat, then it’s time to reassess your situation. Sure, as with everything, there are exceptions, but I’ve seen even the lean get a bit leaner. So go sprint from the produce aisle to the meat counter and stop pounding the pavement mile after mile because it’s not just about logging in time.
