What I Wish I Had Known About Training: 7 Rules for Fitness Beginners
Here are some rules I developed for myself to improve my late-30s training sessions.
*Throughout this piece, I will be using the term "training" in reference to all efforts within the realm of physical fitness—not necessarily training for any particular event other than daily living.
I didn't start my training journey until I was a 32-year-old husband and father. I never played what could be called "competitive" sports growing up, so most of my training education has been blogs, books, and videos, but mostly the hard way.
The rules contained in this piece are the result of hard-learned training education that I wish I could have told myself several years ago. I hope some of you can find some use in these rules instead of learning them the hard way.
But enough ramblin'—let's take a look at these.
Rule #1: Begin with technique.
I know you're excited to get started on your training journey. Whether you're wanting to run your first 5k, lift a certain weight, or knock out a certain number of burpee reps, your first stop should be learning the proper technique for whatever it is that you're doing.
When you fail to learn and apply the proper technique of whatever training you jump into, a few things happen.
A. You set yourself up for repeated injuries.
Not knowing the proper way to hold and move your body for a given activity is almost a guaranteed trip to Hurtsville. This is particularly true with running and strength training. Woo, without learning proper form, you're almost asking to get sidelined.
B. You set yourself up for inefficiency.
When you learn the proper technique for a particular form of training, you'll be amazed by how much easier the activity becomes—or at least eventually becomes.
I experienced this firsthand with running. It wasn't until I studied and applied the contents of the book Older Yet Faster: The Secret to Running Faster and Injury-Free by Keith Bateman and Heidi Jones that I not only saw my natural pace increase by about 2 minutes per mile, but it felt easier to do so.
And while you become more efficient with proper technique, this doesn't always mean things will be easier right off the bat. For instance, I've had to completely rebuild my pushup technique after I saw a video of myself doing what I thought was a decent pushup and noticed just how trash my form was. Is this new form more efficient? Yes, but for now, it's still way harder because I hadn't put in the proper work.
C. You set yourself up for a plateau.
The proper technique for a fitness activity is one that will allow you to progress over the years and build upon past effort and success. An inadequate technique practiced over several months or years usually results in prematurely hitting the ceiling of your ability—a plateau that is tricky to push beyond.
In order to progress beyond that plateau usually requires learning the proper technique, which also usually means a setback in your training.
Rule #2: Let injuries heal completely.
After you've caught the running bug, the lifting bug, the calisthenics bug, the cycling bug, or whatever fitness insect-and-or-virus scratches your itch, this activity becomes more than just a fun hobby—it may become part of your identity. This makes sidelining injuries especially frustrating. Suddenly, being unable to train isn't just a setback to your gains, but also to how you see yourself.
For many, the monkeywrench of injury is a little too much to bear and they're tempted to "power through" and resume training before an injury is completely healed.
Um, don't do that.
You may be saying, "but it feels a little bit better now. Perhaps I can get away with some training." While it's awesome to hear that it's *beginning* to feel better, if it still hurts or doesn't function properly, it needs more time to heal.
Training on an injury can result in creating ongoing setbacks for your training in the future. So, do yourself and your future training a favor and do something that doesn't irritate your injury until it is completely healed. Future you will thank you for your patience and restraint.
Rule #3: Don't jump—build.
Whether you're just beginning a certain type of training or you've been doing so for years, patiently built gains are more sustainable than sudden jumps beyond your comfort levels.
I've been learning this one the hard way.
Example A. I thought I could go from light bodyweight training to becoming a full-on military-style burpee practitioner. What was the result? A pulled abdominal muscle that hurts when I laugh and several weeks before I'm likely to even attempt a pushup.
Example B. I thought I could go from a max running distance of 16 miles one weekend to 20 miles the next. And even while this doesn't sound like too much of a jump, it was enough to dent my running mojo for nearly 2 weeks. I wasn't necessarily injured, I just didn't feel the itch for a solid run again until day 10 because I hadn't really left anything in the tank.
Like training through an injury, attempting to jump up instead of build up in ability is not sustainable. While you think you can jump to a new level and train on top of that mountain until the work becomes more comfortable, you'll likely just find yourself in training "debt" and struggle to pay it off. You're better off putting the "money in the bank" in smaller increments upfront rather than putting it on your body's credit card.
Remember that even the smallest improvements are still worthy of celebration. If you could only do 10 pushups or run 10 miles one week, doing 11 pushups or running 11 miles the next week or even month is still great progress. Heck, even simply sustaining your current training abilities is worth a pat on the back.
Rule #4: Shape your habits to your training.
With the exception of Doc Brown's DeLorean in Back to the Future 2, there are no high-performance engines that run on garbage. In the same way, you'll notice that your training is more productive, satisfying, and even fun when the rest of your health is in line.
Sometimes, this happens organically. I remember when I started running longer distances that if I had a long run planned for the next morning, I would subconsciously eat a "cleaner" dinner with fewer processed foods, fried items, and less, if any, alcohol consumed. This wasn't because I was following a regimented diet plan—I just didn't want to have the hot-dog-water mouth of a hangover or glurpy guts from eating fried food during my run.
For this rule, like the rest of these, experiment a bit.
Explore what habits result in the most enjoyable training sessions.
Try different types of food and drink in various quantities to see what feels best.
See how much sleep is just right for you to feel well-rested or to help you recuperate properly.
Pay attention to your cravings and energy levels before and after strenuous training sessions, as these are usually your body's way of telling you what it needs to train better.
Rule #5: Only one new variable at a time.
If you've spent any time in the running world, you've probably heard the saying, "Nothing new on race day." This basically means that to perform your absolute best for a race, don't try out anything new. No brand new shoes, clothes, kinds of nutrition, or technique tweaks. That should all be ironed out before the starting gun.
This rule somewhat extends that saying into your everyday training. That is to say that if you're experimenting with something new, only tweak one variable per training session.
If you're updating your technique, you shouldn't do so in brand-new shoes.
If you're experimenting with fasted running, you shouldn't do so while also trying to achieve a new personal distance record (he told himself).
If you're trying out a new breathing style or a way to count reps, don't do so while also trying out a new exercise.
So, why only one variable at a time? Because then you can pinpoint what works and what doesn't. If you're changing multiple aspects of your training and it's not a great session, you may blame the wrong tweak.
Maybe your technique adjustment was just what the doctor ordered, but your new shoes changed which muscles were more easily activated.
Maybe fasted running is the answer for you, but your body hadn't anticipated how far you were going to run that day.
Maybe the new rep counting style is great, but your new breathing style made you lose count or the new exercise style made things confusing.
Rule #6: Plan to end training sessions with a smile.
While it can be tempting to leave a training session in a panting heap, only do so if your sweaty mug can crack a smile. What do I mean by this?
Pushing yourself is good—that is what creates growth. However, pushing yourself to the point of misery is not sustainable for long-term gains. This type of exertion sprints beyond the endorphin-fueled afterglow of a solid training session and runs the risk of bruising your training mojo or just, you know, actual physical injury.
So, how do you make sure that you're not leaving the land of the smiling before the quicksand gets too deep? That's a tricky question to answer because it largely depends on the individual. This requires a repository of past training sessions to gauge the difference between simply harder work and training that will leave you moaning in pain on the couch for the rest of the day.
All of this is further complicated by the nature of how we perceive exertion. In many instances, an effort can seem hard enough to end the run or session only for someone to catch a second, third, or even fourth wind. That is why it pays to consider the full picture. Ask yourself, "Have I been to this particular pain cave before? How did I fare? Was I wasted at the end or did I come out on top?"
And while there may be occasions when maxing out becomes a place of growth and education, these instances should be reserved for major milestone events—such as major races or infrequent personal challenges.
Rule #7: Most training should be easy, but don't forget the hard.
There's a tendency to belong to one of two tribes:
a. those who never train beyond a light pant
b. those who fill their training with breathless gasping
So, which tribe is right? Well, both.
Most of your training should remain within Zone 2: or an easier effort in which your pulse is elevated, but you're still able to hold a conversation. Zone 2, or the aerobic zone, trains your body to use stored fat as an energy source.
Many may feel odd in this zone because this means that you're taking it easier than you'd expect to during a training session. Some runs may need to slow down to the pace of an easy jog or your strength training to more leisurely reps.
However, at least once per training session, a bit of wordless gasping is good. This might mean fewer rests between burpee reps, downshifting up a hill as fast your legs can take you, or doing some fast high knees with a jump rope until you can't go any faster. Getting your pulse into the anaerobic state such as Zone 4 or even 5 helps with a variety of bodily functions—from strengthening muscles to helping joints to building bone density and more. But while this exertion is helpful, you should only be doing so for short bursts—which is handy since that's all you'll likely be able to do anyway.
Well, that's all of the training rules I have for now. If you liked these and would like to keep them handy, I've typed up a short cheat sheet that you can download and print off or just type off for yourself.
What training rules do you have for yourself? Let me know.