The harder you think, the harder it feels #motivation #workout #gymexercise

As a card carrying overthinker, I have a tendency to change cues too much. And when I do, I find it really limits my outputs and makes my gym sessions feel more fatiguing that they should.

Cognitive load is how much energy your thinking costs you. This energy expenditure contributes to fatigue. It also makes your exercises feel a lot harder.

This means that overthinking messes up your stimulus to fatigue ratio. It limits your outputs. And while being a necessary part of the process, there are some rules I try to follow.

1. Select a few cues per exercise. Make sure there is a clear reason for each. Narrow this down to 1-2 cues.

2. Stick with a cue for several sessions. As you implement the cue, your body learns to associate a feeling with the internal language.

3. When possible, use external cues. These will often be contact with an implement or the ground. Since these are already areas of sensation, they are easier to feel than internal cues. This means less fatigue cost per cue.

4. Compare cues to quantitative and qualitative feedback. See if the cue allows you to lift more or if it improves your form. Going off of feel is okay but it should also correlate to improved performance.

Right now I’m currently breaking all of these rules with some cues I’m working on from a postural perspective. I do this full well knowing I might be limiting performance on compound movements.

To account for this effect, I’m pushing it hard on machines and other constrained exercises. This will allow me to get a lot of pure unadulterated stimulus and also work on some nerdy shit.

What cues are you working on?

#squat #glutes #legday #personaltrainer

[ChaplinPerformance]

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