Consistency vs intensity when working out

We have all been there. You start going to the gym with the aim of cutting that beer belly but after the third day of exercises, you stop going. It is not because you are lazy or because the beer belly has stopped bothering you, it is simply because you got tired of feeling the pain of sore muscles. 

You find a gym near your home and instantly fall in love with it. It is clean, well run, accessible and has a committed trainer. Plus, he has the kind of body you want. You make the decision to make this gym a part of your life so that you can finally get the toned body you have always dreamt of. 

You are so serious about the decision that contemplate paying for a month of sessions upfront.  
That first evening, you work out like a person that needs to see real change. You lay your life at the hands of the trainer and do whatever challenge he asks of you. What you do not know is that your gym trainer has missed an important aspect of working out as we all do, which is that you must never allow your muscles to get sore from a workout. Instead, you must be consistent to see the results you desire but you will not be consistent when your muscles are killing you. 

Consistency over intensity 
This is a relatively new way of looking at exercising. The old way fronts the “No Pain No Gain” perception. That you must go hard and trust that tomorrow, your spirit will be strong enough to allow you to crawl back to the gym to work out with your painful muscles. However, according to the Joe Rogan Experience, a podcast, chances are, your spirit will not be strong enough to do so. 

Firas Zahabi, who owns and trains at Tristar Gym in Quebec, Canada, says there is something called the weight of perceived exertion. 

''Let us say I make you do pull-ups, and the maximum amount of pull-ups you can do is 10. Should I make you do 10 pull-ups? No, I will make you do five. Why? because I am setting you up to work out the next day,” he adds.

This professional gym trainer believes that if he makes a person do their possible maximum pull-ups every day, the person will get sore and stop exercising. He says he will make the person do five pull-ups so that they can come back in and do five the next day and so on, without being fatigued.

Take it easy
Zahabi believes that to get results from your exercise, you must go easy and feel good after exercising rather than working yourself into the ground. He says it is better to do a little exercise daily rather than stretching oneself out on the first day only to stay home for a week recuperating. The reasoning behind his format is that the little exercise done daily, when it adds up, amounts to having more volume than the periodic exercise. He believes that consistency is better than intensity. 

The gym is famous for having one of the greatest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighters of all time, Georges St-Pierre, on its roster.

“I am a big believer in never being sore. You should train, and on the next day, you should wake up feeling good,” Zahabi said.

He added, “Do not go into the phase where your body is broken and tight and beat up. That is only for training camps, for a small period of time. Because you get a little bit more from the system, but in the long run, you get less. In the long run, you have taxed the system. So, if you do that regularly, by the time you actually get good at it, you will be broken.”

Better results
The fitness trainer also explains that a person who works out a little daily will see better results at the end of the year than a person who works out extremely heavily only once in a while. 
“Because it is impossible to do an intense workout consistently. You will burn out,” he said.

The rationale behind being consistent instead of overworking your muscles makes a lot of sense. We have all been there, which is why what the above professional trainer says makes so much sense.

This system worked perfectly for St-Pierre who set unprecedented records in the UFC and remained relatively injury-free. Hence, it could set a precedent for trainers and athletes worldwide, and it is something every gym could adopt.

Build the foundation first
Intensity has its place in fitness but it is absolutely useless if you do not first build a foundation of consistency. If you have not yet developed the foundation of unwavering consistency, it is time to put everything else to the side and build that foundation first.

If you need to start with walking, do it. Start walking until it becomes habitual.

If you need to start with highly modified, low intensity workouts, do it. Do it until it becomes habitual.

Consistency will breed results and those results will be in the form of a higher tolerance for fitness. In a few months time that walk will feel too easy, or the weight on your dumbbells will start to feel too light.

Turn that walk into a jog. Pick up the heavier dumbbells. Move a little bit faster. Maybe not every single day - but when you can. Eventually, you will continue to pick up speed. You will continue to get stronger.