Training Smart: Focus on Stimulus, Not Time

If you’ve ever wondered why some fitness goals feel like an ongoing chase, while there are other goals you're able to hit quickly, there’s a reason. The secret? It’s not about how long you sweat it out in the gym. It's about the right kind of challenge your body faces—the stimulus.

A Different Approach:

Consider this: some fitness milestones can be achieved with a single, well-aimed effort—an acute stimulus. While others unfold over time, requiring consistent, repeated challenges—a chronic stimulus. It's like the difference between flipping a switch and nurturing a plant to bloom.

Henk Kraaijenhof, a sage in the realm of sports performance since 1975, breaks it down to a simple yet profound mantra: “Train as much as necessary, not as much as possible.”

Why This Matters:

Our training sessions are often aimed at a specific sensation or goal—like chasing the high from endorphins, trimming down, bulking up, or boosting our cardiovascular endurance. The fitness industry’s norm? Measure successful effort by the clock. 

But imagine a shift in focus—aiming for the stimulus your goal demands rather than watching the minutes tick by.

Rethinking Time:

Our current obsession with training time is somewhat arbitrary. A convenient way to commercialize fitness without measuring what a session is truly meant to accomplish. It's time to question these standards.

Learning from Henk:

"Train as much as necessary, not as much as possible" isn’t just sage advice—it's a revolution in how we approach training. It dismisses the anxiety that we're not doing enough, challenging the myth that more is always better.

Takeaway:

Adopting a stimulus-focused approach to training is about efficiency, precision, and, ultimately, respect for our bodies' limits and potential. Let’s shift the narrative from clocking hours to achieving meaningful, purposeful progress.

Embracing a stimulus-focused training method is about prioritizing efficiency, precision, and a deep respect for our body's potential and limits. Let's pivot from the obsession with logging hours to pursuing significant, purposeful progress. 

Because in the grand scheme, it’s not about how much you can do, but about doing what truly matters—training wisely, not wastefully.

Here's to smarter training—because your body deserves excellence, not excess.