Signaling is everything you do, think, and feel. It is a chemical reaction. These reactions then signal your body in different ways. Happiness, sadness, focus, and daydreaming are all different aspects of the same thing. Chemical reactions going off in our bodies and minds.

We are all trying to force adaptation on our bodies, that’s why we train. Do it long enough though in enough different ways and things can start to get a little confusing. What’s the best way to mix strength training and running? Is it possible to strength train squats and presses on the same day? What about pull-ups and running? Can I train them and still have the adaptations that I want?

Pain, Gain, Endure

Pain– those hard metcons, sprints, etc. going as hard as we can for a short period of time, typically in repeats.

Gain– strength training and literally “gaining” size and strength.

Endure– endurance work, defined by CrossFit as anything over 20 minutes. Endurance groups however typically classify endurance as 60-90+ minutes depending upon the sport.

When training it’s important to know which of these 3 items you’re trying to impact –  pain, gain, or endure. A rookie thinks and tries to train all of these items in one workout. That doesn’t work by definition. If you are doing endurance, yes, there will be pain, but it isn’t the most important aspect of that session.

You don’t have to focus on making sure you do these three things, I cover that for you. You should however look at workouts and try to guess which they are.

Signaling

Last item and where this all started, signaling. Your body is going to make an adaptation for the “last sent signal”. Endurance will adapt for mitochondrial efficiency. Gain for muscle mass and contractility. Pain for lactate threshold and a handful of other items. Signals can be sent in a variety of ways. We are just trying to tell our body that the work is done and it can begin to recover and rebuild. You can do this by taking a nap, meditating, or simply eating something.

So, if you want to do two-a-days, or maybe just morning cardio and evening weights these are the items to watch out for and ensure you get between sessions.

If you struggle in any of these areas you may need to train it more – or perhaps you need to stop skipping the other two items. I can help you understand the difference! Book your intro with me here.