Everybody has good days and bad days with regards to training in the gym, or on the field, court, or trails. I try to plan easier days in advance, but it’s not always enough. To maximize your results, you should adjust your workouts based on how you feel.
Modifying on the Fly
There are several ways that I modify workouts based on how a client or athlete looks or feels.
1. Questionnaires
2. ‘The Coach’s Eye’
3. Autoregulation
It’s always best to have a coach or trainer present, but you can apply these concepts when training alone.
Questionnaires
I use questionnaires before, during, and after a workout to determine readiness to train, how the workout is progressing, and what was the difficulty of the workout.
Before a workout begins with a large group I might simply ask, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how ready are you to perform this workout?”
1 = Awful
3 = OK
5 = Great
If I’m working with a smaller group or performing an inventory on myself, I’ll use the same scale to check energy levels, sleep from the night before, muscle soreness, and health.
I’m looking for a 3 or better. I’m also looking for trends. The hardest working people will usually report 4 or 5. A 3 for these individuals will mean that they’re feeling sub-par. On the other hand, some people will report 2s on a regular basis and be fine. Generally, though, you should probably skip the workout if you’re reporting a 1 on any one question and modify volume or intensity if you score 2 on more than one question.
Example
Current plan: 3x10 reverse lunges at 40 lbs
Modification 1: 2x10 reverse lunges at 40 lbs
Modification 2: 3x10 reverse lunges at 30 lbs
Modification 3: Sled pushing for 3x10 steps
During the workout, I’m also using questionnaires to determine if the workout is going according to plan. Sometimes you’ll feel great in the warm-up, but things will go downhill during the workout. I occasionally cut my own runs short even when I’m running well if I’m exceeding the agreed upon effort level.
As another example, I had a girl running 3x3x300m. On the final set, she hit the first 300m faster than on the previous two sets. She said, “I won’t be able to maintain that for the last two.” I then switched the last two intervals to 200m and 150m. She was not only able to maintain form for the rest of the workout but pick up the pace.
After the workout, I sometimes use a 5-point scale to determine how difficult the workout was. I like my athletes and clients to train hard but I’m not trying to crush them.
The Coach’s Eye
When my clients and athletes are training, I’m looking for signs of excessive fatigue and pain such as changes in technique, faster breathing, or rubbing a sore joint. This is sometimes referred to as ‘The Coach’s Eye.’
For example, if the run calls for a comfortably hard effort and my runner is hyperventilating and bent over after a cruise interval, I may extend the rest between intervals and demand a slower pace.
This is hard to perform on yourself as you can’t see yourself working out. In this case, you must feel the changes in technique like your knees caving in while squatting or your opposite hip dropping while you run. You don’t want to train past technical failure to maximize long-term results while minimizing injury. In the case of pain, if you have a sore back, switch conventional deadlifts out for single leg deadlifts.
Autoregulation
Autoregulation is something I’ve been using more often recently, particularly the APRE method in the gym. Instead of asking for a set of 10, I ask for a set of 8-12. Based on how many reps my client completes will determine how I program the next set. In this way, she can work as hard as she’s able to on that day. What I found is that I wasn’t training my clients as hard as I needed to maximize results.
Here’s an example of how I’ve been using autoregulation for the hang power clean.
Set 1: Optional warm-up set of 50% of 3RM for 3 reps
Set 2: 75% of 3RM for 3 reps
Set 3: 3RM for 1-5 reps
Set 4: Subtract 2 reps and if 5 reps on set 3, add 10%; if 4 reps, add 5%; if 3 reps, maintain weight; if 2 reps, subtract 5%; if 1 rep, subtract 10%
I found that this setup works great for athletes. For adult fitness, most of my clients were too sore with two autoregulated sets. Thus, on the final set, I maintain weight even if the maximum reps are completed and cut two reps. This method isn’t great for beginners either as they need to become proficient at the exercises before worrying about progressing load.
In summary, use questionnaires upfront, keep a close eye on technique during the workout, and autoregulate based on how you feel.
If you have any questions about fitness, please email them to me at jp.ppf@hotmail.com.
Jonathan Pratt
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