Following on from yesterday’s email about how not to do cardio, my thoughts on “challenge” workouts and programmes:
(For the uninitiated, a challenge workout or programme is one that’s based on a specific gimmick – e.g. doing 500 bodyweight squats as quickly as possible).
Bluntly, I think they’re stupid and have done for a very long time. Come to think of it, I can’t actually remember a time when I didn’t think they were dumb as sin.
Although I have done (and still do) my fair share of them despite this.
If you believe that makes me a hypocrite, you’re probably right. But if you’ll lend me a minute, I’ll explain my reasoning:
First, challenge workouts and programmes are dumb because they don’t deliver tangible results in most cases. And even when they do, what you get isn’t commensurate with the amount of blood, sweat, and tears you put in.
This is a problem because you’re needlessly exposing yourself to the twin evils of injury and burnout.
However.
Sometimes it’s appropriate to push things a little bit, and challenge workouts and programmes are one tool you have at your disposal. (Provided they’re not utterly ridiculous – and most of them are – so you have to be very careful in your choice of workout or programme).
Take for example the “squat one set of 50 reps with your bodyweight” challenge I did six or seven years ago.
Sounds easy until you realise “with your bodyweight” means your bodyweight on a barbell. (I was 90kg at the time, so I had to do a single set of 50 reps with 90kg).
Yeah. Not fun.
If I remember rightly, it took me about ten weeks to hit that goal, and I was very proud when I did. My legs also grew a fair bit, and when I went back to squatting “normally” it felt much easier. (Likely because the ultra-high rep sets had strengthened my core and boosted my mental toughness).
Could I have achieved the same result through a less extreme method?
Almost certainly.
However, that challenge was right for me at the time for a bunch of factors that are beyond the scope of this email.
The reason I’m mentioning this is what we have here is an example of a “sensible” challenge.
I had one specific objective to pursue and I could do it without disrupting the rest of my training in any way. Nor was it so demanding that it took away from my life outside the gym.
Like I mentioned a moment ago, most challenges aren’t like that.
They grind you into a bloody pulp, leave you feeling stiff, sore, and miserable, force you to eat a lot more (so you get fat), and often result in niggling injuries that persist for months – sometimes years – after the challenge is done.
So it pays to be cautious.
And maybe get advice from an appropriately qualified professional – if you feel you need it.
Advice you will have “virtually unlimited” access to when you subscribe to The Phil Tyreman Letter.
Why only “virtually unlimited”?
Because there’s little point in us going around in circles with you asking the same question over and over again because you didn’t like the answer.
So: You can ask me whatever you like, whenever you like – but you can’t ask another question until you’ve acted on my answer to the first (except for clarification), or your goals have changed to such an extent as to render my advice moot (although expect me to push back and ask why you’ve switched direction).
If you agree this is fair and I’ve piqued your interest to learn more about working with me, you’ll find all the information on the below web page:
https://philtyreman.co.uk/information
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman