Effective vs. Optimized Training: The Spectrum

In fitness and health, the barrier to exercise and eating seems to be much higher than it actually is. But why?

Far too often we worry about perfection (which we’ll replace with the phrase optimized training) instead of what is effective. The sheer amount of information out there makes it difficult to determine where exactly we should go with our diet and training. This can lead to inability to take action, or taking a variety of ineffective actions and not making progress.

For example, training a busy person who works 10 hour days, has a family, and travels a lot looks a lot different than a professional athlete or bodybuilder who has the time, resources, and needs to optimize training through every variable possible. Can both parties reach their goals? Yes. Is one necessarily better than the other? No.

Start with Effective Training

In the beginning, you need to prioritize effective training. Whether you are just beginning or haven’t trained in years and are getting back into it, the nitty gritty details are of less importance that just building habits. This ensures that progress is being made.

This stage is where we prioritize doing what is effective, because simply put we are laying the foundations to fitness and health on which we will further optimize to fit our goals.

Going back to our example earlier, an average adult might look at a professional athlete, hear the advice about the optimization of all training variables, see the lifestyle they have, then compare it to their current situation. This sets an unrealistic expectation. It might even lead to them not starting, or sustaining their training.

But what they fail to realize is that the entry level to fitness is actually quite low, and the “perfect” split, routine, or session doesn’t matter nearly as much as starting.

The Role of Progression in Optimal Training

Now as with achieving any goal, progression is key, and is also the governing principle for this whole theory. After a clear goal is defined and sustainable action has been taken, progression will inevitably occur. As this progression occurs, we achieve goals and must define new ones, in other words optimize our training to fit these goals.

Say in the beginning we simply wanted to be able to do 5 pullups. As you hit this goal, the perspective might shift. You might want to grow bigger lats for competition, so further volume and load must be placed on the muscle for growth. Obviously, this can be achieved with pull ups, but we can also add some further back exercises to promote growth and add strength. From there, reps, sets, schemes, recovery, and nutrition can be tweaked so that this growth could happen as efficiently as possible! As you can see, effective action was taken, goals were achieved, and optimized training helped further progression.

Everyone starts somewhere. Next time you’re scrolling social media, especially in the fitness and health space, remind yourself that a lifelong journey starts with a single effective action.

There is a lot out there, but it’s important to remember that you don’t have to start perfect; you just have to start effectively. From there, stay consistent, progress, optimize, and achieve!

Hope this helps!

Author: Myles Marshall | Training Arc