128 Do more work.

The goal for the conditioning-biased athlete is to chronically increase training load while maintaining the load-recovery balance.

More simply, conditioning is about learning to do more work.

Fitness athletes have no problem with more training. 

We are often eager to prove we can work the hardest. 

As a result, we increase training load on too short of a timeline.

I remember compressing a week of training into a single day. And wondering why I constantly felt fatigued, irritable, and in pain.

There's no shortage of effort or willpower. Fitness athletes have no problem with "increase training load."

It's this word "chronically" that gives us issues.

It isn't about training the most today, or even this week.

It's about increasing your training load over months and years.

In a perfect world, we could just increase our training load by 5-10% every week for our entire career. Simple.

As much as I wish it were that way, I have found that reality is more complex.

For those who want to chronically increase their training load, I recommend hiring a coach to design individualized, periodized, and progressive programs.

An individualized program respects your current ability, time, and recovery resources.

A periodized program has fluctuations in volume and intensity that make training more engaging and ensure adequate recovery after competitions.

A progressive program gives you more challenge as you improve.

While the coach manages the training load, the athlete also has agency in maintaining the load-recovery balance.

Over a career, the athlete must learn to recognize the signs of overtraining, minimize non-training stress, and maximize support.

Recognize the signs of overtraining

Stress imbalance leads to health degradation. Watch for these signs:

• Joint pain
• Weakened immunity
• GI distress
• Low libido
• Disrupted sleep
• Impaired blood sugar regulation
• Fatigue and irritability
• Severely depressed cortisol curve

If these start to interfere with your training, then communicate with your coach who can reduce your load, help you increase your recovery or both.

Minimize non-training stress

Imagine a hot air balloon. 

As hot air fills the balloon, it expands, just like our ability to contain and adapt to stress.

However, the balloon's capacity is finite.

A controlled level of hot air lifts the balloon - similar to how stress enables us to perform.

While too little hot air keeps us grounded and stagnant, too much sends us out of control.

Beyond training stress, all types of stress are "hot air," meaning they contribute to our total load:

• Mental fatigue
• Career and financial insecurity
• Relational tension
• Social scrutiny
• Performance anxiety

When you learn to minimize these, you have more room in the balloon for training.

Maximize support

A hot air balloon is always open to releasing pressure - similar to our ability to recover.

Just as important as minimizing non-training stress, is maximizing support:

• Prioritize sleep and circadian rhythm
• Ensure adequate nutrition and hydration
• Practice food and sleep hygiene
• Get sun exposure daily when possible
• Use downregulation techniques (breathing, stretching, reading)
• Cultivate hobbies
• Connect with nature

Think of these like the rate at which you release pressure from the balloon.

When you maximize these, you can handle more hot air coming in.