Ep. 3: How Hard Should You Train?

How Hard Should You Be Training, and Are You Recovering From It?

In episode three, Keenan and Jared cover two things that most people either ignore. Training intensity and recovery. On the intensity side, they talk about training close to failure, double progression, rep ranges, rest periods, and how to use supersets. Keenan shares how he used double progression for two years straight to build up to a 405 squat. On recovery, they get into sleep, wearables, and what actually moves the needle versus what is mostly a mental thing. Keenan also shares that he got a VO2 max of 57 in a lab test despite cutting the test short when his nosepiece fell off.

TAKEAWAYS

1. Train close to failure. Your last two reps should be a real fight. If you finish a set and feel fine, you probably left too much in the tank. A rep range is only a suggestion, since your muscles do not know if you stop at 10 or 12. Get within one to two reps of failure.

2. Use double progression to keep moving forward. Pick a rep range, like 6 to 8 or 8 to 12. Work the same weight until you hit the top of the range, then add weight and work back up. Repeat. It is that simple.

3. Rest long enough to actually recover. If you are doing heavy compound lifts, two minutes is often not enough. You need your heart rate and your head in the right place before your next set. Doing core work between heavy squat sets is fine for general fitness, but if max strength is the goal, you are probably not pushing hard enough on those sets to begin with.

4. Do not train to failure on exercises you have not "mastered" yet. New to conventional deadlifts or overhead pressing? Build the form first. Failure on a movement you are still learning can increase injury risk. Save the intensity for exercises where your technique is solid, or the exercise is supported and stable.

5. Sleep is your number one recovery tool. Not the massage gun, not the compression boots, not the sauna. If you are averaging five or six hours a night and wondering why your training feels off, start there. Everything else is a band-aid for the root problem of poor sleep.

6. Recovery tools that are worth it on a budget. A foam roller and a cheap massage gun will cover most of what you need for under $100. Everything else, like the sauna, compression boots, and wearables, adds maybe 5% on top of sleep and nutrition.

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