Posted by Andy Petranek : Monday, Jan 16, 2012

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"Perhaps the most important part of your body, the one most responsive to training and most important for competition, is the nervous system ... One unique ability of the nervous system is its capacity to learn ... Each workout is a small part of a memory stored in the brain ... If we train indiscriminately, that is recorded. If we over train, that too is recorded. But if we train effectively, we maintain that memory too. The nervous system remembers everything it experiences, so be careful what you put into it. Sometimes a long process of "re-training" is necessary, especially in those who have abused their body through improper training."
~ Philip Maffetone

As athletes that are looking to improve performance in both sport and life, 50-75% of what we should be doing in training involves the development of our nervous systems. That means practicing skills over and over and over again so that each time we do it, it gets a little easier (like basketball players practicing free throws). Frequency, volume and accuracy (form) matter. Why? Because of the message each repetition sends to every cell in your body that translate into a pattern in your nervous system.

And every rep counts... here's why. Last week at CFLA, we did workouts that resulted in many people doing more than 150 pull ups and 350 squats. If you averaged only 1/5 of that per week (30 pull ups, 70 squats) for a year, that would lead to something like 1,500 pull ups and 3,500 squats! Can you see how that many reps of anything might lead to patterns, good or bad?

So next time you think it doesn't really matter... that they're only squats (or pull ups) for goodness sake... remember what you're teaching yourself with each rep. And then make them all count in your favor!

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Today's Workout
Skill Work:
- 10 minutes on double unders
- What's your best max set?
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Workout:
Ten rounds for time of:
5 Deadlifts (225/165)
5 Dips