KISS — Keep it simple, stupid.
I like this rule, and the more I train the more I realize that’s how it should be.
When you first get into exercise you just want to do it. But then you find out about all of this other information that you need to know to make your workouts, nutrition, etc. more effective. It’s overwhelming. However, it need not be that complicated.
Basically, the gist of KISS is keeping everything simple. There’s 4 things that you need to be doing to have good results with your training namely (1) training, (2) nutrition, (3) sleep, and (4) low levels of stress.
1. Training is best kept simple. Workout hard and rest hard. Put your best into your workouts, and they will give their best back to you. But when it’s time to rest, make sure you really rest. Don’t try to complicate things with so many exercises or so many varying repetition schemes – just work hard and you’ll get results. As you learn about your body and understand more then you may need to vary it up, but by then you’ll generally know enough that it shouldn’t be complicated.
If you ever find yourself thinking about programming for more than 10-20 minutes, you’re probably overcomplicating things.
Define goals -> Select exercises -> organize them into workouts -> Go do it.
2. Nutrition… keep it simple.
I think this article from the guys at LifeSpotlight says it very well. Essentially, just eat real food. Over in our beginners section we put together a great article that breaks it down into very simple, easy to follow guidelines.
3. Sleep is simple. Get 7-8 hours per night. Maybe a bit more or a bit less depending on your body’s needs. No exceptions. Make time if you have to.
4. Low levels of stress. Self explanatory. Don’t worry so much. Training and sleeping help alleviate stress, but don’t get all worked up about anything going on in your daily lives. Just step back, take a few deep breaths and deal with it.
Try to schedule some ‘you’ time every week – massages, learn new sports or do other activities, meet new people, etc. Chronic levels of stress will beat you down hard and be disruptive to your training so try to stay as stress free as possible.
wow. thx. this is really gonna help out. thx!
I agree with your idea of KISS for numbers 2-4, but I differ somewhat with the keeping it simple for training. I would agree that we need some level of GPP, but how do you address the aspect of skill acquisition. Isn’t the purpose of training to improve skills or do you keep that separate from training?
Thanks for a great website!
Depends on if you’re playing a sport or not whether you need skill work. Depends if you need GPP for what.
Skills, in general, are separate from training as they aren’t taxing — they’re aimed neurlogically at learning how to do things.