To enhance or maintain any ability, movement or skill, one should use the least training load necessary to deliver a desired result. This means using the load at the low point of the “training zone”. Using the minimum training load that still delivers progress or maintains form decreases chances of injury and overtraining.
The training zone is wider and extends lower for novices than for advanced athletes. For strength exercises, the training zone for novices starts at 20% of their one rep max for improvement, whereas advanced athletes require loads above 80%.
For example, the average untrained 75kg male can squat 50kg. Performing a back squat with 10kg (a 20% load) would further increase his strength.
An advanced 75kg male may be able to squat 155kg. Performing a back squat with 31kg (a 20% load) would not provide any benefit. The advanced athlete would need a load of at least 124kg for improvement.
Again, training above these minimum values, with a novice attempting loads of 80% and an advanced athlete training closer to 100% may not provide any further benefits and would increase the chance of injury or overtraining. This falls under the law of diminishing returns.
For aerobic fitness, the training zone starts at 45% of maximum aerobic capacity for novices and closer to 70% for advanced athletes. The onset of blood lactate accumulation usually occurs between 55% and 65% of maximum oxygen uptake in novices and over 80% in advanced endurance athletes.
This minimum effort, maximum results rule also applies to the number of workouts and exercises. An athlete who does fewer workouts to enhance or maintain a given ability has more time and energy for enhancing other areas of life, abilities or skills.
The law of diminishing returns has been demonstrated in elite swimmers. Swimmers who trained twice daily and swam more than 10,000m per day made the same progress as swimmers who trained once a day and swam half that distance per day.
More is not always optimal and in fact can be detrimental to performance. Training Smart is superior to the old motto of no pain, no gain.
