Andy Galpin - How to Know If You're Training Too Much | Dr. Andy Galpin
The speaker emphasizes the importance of collecting data over a period of time to understand personal limits in exercise and performance. By tracking objective and subjective markers, individuals can identify when they are approaching their personal thresholds, such as increased risk of injury or decreased performance. This approach is likened to sports practices like pitch counts in baseball, where data helps prevent overuse injuries. The speaker suggests a minimal viable solution for tracking: measure one objective marker (like body weight), one subjective marker (like mood), and one performance anchor (like running volume) daily for 30 days. This data helps identify deviations from the norm, allowing for informed decisions about training adjustments. The speaker advises against reacting to single-day anomalies and suggests taking action only when deviations persist over several days.
Key Points:
- Collect data over a period to identify personal performance limits.
- Track one objective, one subjective, and one performance marker daily.
- Use data to prevent overtraining and optimize performance.
- React to deviations only if they persist for several days.
- Use sports practices like pitch counts as a model for data-driven decisions.
Details:
1. 📊 Collecting Data for Personal Thresholds
1.1. Methodology of Data Collection
1.2. Implications of Exceeding Personal Thresholds
2. ⚾ Sports Analogy: Pitch Count and Personal Limits
- In baseball, a pitch count of 100 is a critical metric for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball, aimed at preventing injuries and maintaining optimal performance.
- Youth sports implement specific pitching restrictions, informed by historical data, to reduce the risk of injuries and performance decline beyond certain thresholds.
- Tracking personal training metrics, such as repetitions, miles, heart rate, or sleep patterns, allows individuals to understand their limits and avoid overtraining, akin to sports pitch counts.
- Without baseline data on personal performance, identifying overtraining or appropriate recovery periods becomes challenging, highlighting the need for personal metrics.
3. 📈 MVP Solution for Tracking Performance
- Measure daily or most days in three different areas: objective, subjective, and performance anchor.
- Objective Measure: Choose a quantifiable metric such as body weight, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, respiratory rate, or CO2 level.
- Subjective Measure: Track personal perceptions such as mood, energy levels, desire to train, or perceived sleep quality.
- Performance Anchor: Identify and measure the one factor that significantly holds back performance, like training volume if focusing on running.
4. 📏 Establishing Baselines and Analyzing Deviations
4.1. Establishing Baselines
4.2. Analyzing Deviations
5. 🛠 Handling Negative Changes and Recovery
- Monitor metrics for deviations more than two standard deviations from the norm over multiple days to determine if action is needed.
- Prioritize sustained deviations over 3-5 days to prevent overreactions to daily fluctuations.
- Consider immediate intervention if significant decreases persist for more than two days, even if they fall within the typical 5-day observation window.
- Develop a comprehensive recovery plan in response to substantial changes, emphasizing the importance of dedicating resources to understand and address the root causes effectively.