Training vs. Performance

When we hear of incredible feats of strength such as Ed Coan’s 1,000 lb. squat or Andy Bolton’s 1,000 lb. deadlift, we often imagine that these men could perform these lifts any time we asked them to. If someone is strong enough to lift a given weight today, then he must be just as strong 24 hours later or even 24 days later. In truth, however, such feats of strength are so taxing on the body that they can only be performed once or twice a year, if that. If either of these men attempted to lift 1,000 lb. just one week later, they likely would have failed to do so.

This is because the stress of a one-rep max is too great to recover from. It does not constitute a good training stimulus, but a performance. In other words, it tells us how strong we are, but it does not make us stronger. The appropriate dose for strength training must be something that the body can quickly recover from and adapt to. Thus, for these men, most of their training was likely in the 700-900 lb. range.

So next time you’re in the gym, resist the urge to test your strength and focus instead on training and getting stronger. This doesn’t mean that your workouts will be easy, but it does mean that they won’t be brutal. Most days you should leave the gym feeling like you could have done just a tad more.