If you have been around athletics long enough you have probably heard the saying “Train Smart, not Hard”. While this saying is very true in some aspects, make sure that you are training hard as well. I am going to talk about why you need to train SMART and why you need to train HARD.

The body is similar to a computer, if you put in the right programming it will run efficiently and effectively but programming it poorly can cause virus’s which impede its function. Training smart is putting in the right programming. Training unintelligently can cause an injury, or virus, that will impede your body to perform.

I have mentioned this in a previous Schaudt Out about overtraining but I will say it again: I would rather be 10% under trained than 5% over trained. Overtraining cause’s performance plateaus and unwanted knick knacks like strained muscles and aches and pains. Ideally you want to put the correct dosage of training into the body, but if you had to choose between over or undertraining, choose under.

The type of training is another important aspect to training smart. The sport you play demands a certain amount and type of energy expenditure and you need to match your training to that demand. Don’t run endless miles when your event is powerlifting.

To this point I’ve discussed ways that you can train intelligently; now I am going to flip the coin. Sometimes you do things in your training just to be tough, overcome adversity, and challenge yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. It may not make sense on paper, but it accomplishes something inside of you that transcends “paper reason”. These training grounds are where you find your athletic identity.

Our bodies are similar to computers, but they are so much more. We need to enter in the correct programming to provide the optimal result, but at some point you need to grease the elbows, #TrainBIG, and find out who you are as an athlete apart from your hardware and software.

Schaudt is out!