Train Every Day, Get Better Every Day

Improving your body composition and athletic performance requires every day dedication.

One question lifters and athletes frequently ask me is how many days a week they should train. If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have told you that if you want to get bigger, you should only train 3-4 days per week, and if you were looking to lose fat or get leaner, 5-6. In the past few months though, having read about Neural Charge Training from Christian Thibaudeau my perspective on training frequency has changed completely.

Whether a competitive athlete or a lifter just wanting to get bigger and stronger, you should be doing something every day. Realistically, if you’re in the "real world," this may not be practical because your schedule inhibits how much time you can dedicate to training. If you can only train 2 times a week because of your hectic schedule, so be it.

But, if you’re a competitive athlete and want to maximize your athletic performance, find time to dedicate 20 minutes on your "off days" to do a neural charge workout. My athletes have been using these short workouts in-between training sessions and have seen dramatic improvements in recovery and explosive work capacity. Better recovery ability and improved explosive work capacity equals better athletic performance!

Look at the way Olympic lifters train, using but a few basic moments and training them every day. Back squats, front squats, cleans, snatches and jerks are all staples in their training. How is it that gymnasts and Olympic lifters can train everyday and not over train? The key is to alter the volume and intensity each day.

Thibaudeau outlines all the nooks and crannies in his article, but here are some of the keys to performing these workouts I’ve picked up through experimentation:

• All exercises need to be explosive in nature (jumps, plyo push-ups, throws)
• Alternate between lower body exercises with upper body exercises
• Keep the workouts under 20 minutes
• Every set you should feel more explosive
• Stop the workout before fatigue sits in
• Do 5 or less reps on each exercise

I’ve found that neural charge workouts are a great way to train other plains of motions beyond the sagittal plane. While compound exercises like squats, deadlifts, presses, lunges, pull-ups etc are all great, they all occur on the sagittal plane. Sports involve rotating (transverse plane) and lateral movements (frontal plane). Neutral charge workouts are an excellent way to incorporate exercises on all 3 planes of motion.
Here are some sample neural charge workouts I’ve used with my athletes:

Neural Charge Baseball Workout
1A) Rotational Med Ball Throw
1B) Lateral Bench Jump
1C) Plyo push-up
1D) Broad Jumps

Neural Charge Football Workout
1A) Seated Chest Throw
1B) Box Jump
1C) Med Ball Slam
1D) Lateral Broad Jumps

*These workouts are not circuits. Take your time moving from exercise to exercise. The goal is to improve explosive work capacity. You shouldn’t get tired, or grow out of breath, doing these workouts*

There really is no right or wrong way to do these workouts. As long as you adhere to the principles listed above, and the ones Christian mentions in his Neural Charge Training article. Get creative and use a combination of bodyweight, barbell and med ball exercises. The next big question is, are these workouts only for athletes? Absolutely not! Improved explosive work capacity will help you in your pursuit to build muscle and get stronger. If your goal is fat loss, do not turn these workouts into conditioning circuits. This will only take away from their purpose, which is to help you recover faster so that you’re able not just to train every day, but to improve every day.

If you're training everyday, 1R would rcommend the following supplmetns to help improve your recovery time:

1. Optimum Nutrition 2:1:1 Recovery - The carbs and protein will help you recover and build lean muscle faster after tough workouts
2. Cytosport L-Glutamine - Needed for immune system support, energy production, and the building and protection of the lean muscle mass when stress is increased on the body
3. Cytosport Creatine - By increasing your body's ATP production creatine will help you become more explosive, more powerful, and more athletic when taken before or after workouts