Optimize Each Workout by Identifying its Purpose

In order for you to achieve your training and performance goals, it is of the utmost importance that you outline a strategic training plan—and stick to it! Each workout has a purpose and plays a key role in helping you to achieve your desired results. Below are several training goals that can help guide your workouts and schedule.

Endurance

These workouts are what teach your body to push through fatigue and achieve longer distances. It might surprise you to learn that these endurance training workouts are most effective when your body has already been fatigued. For instance, a slow run on Sunday, when you’re running on tired legs from Saturday’s long bike ride, is a very productive endurance workout.

Speed or Strength

Speed- or strength-oriented training sessions will be shorter sessions designed to develop your ability to push hard for short periods. For this type of workout, it is best to be rested so that you can generate enough intensity to make it productive. When you’re too tired, the difference between the work (interval) and rest (recovery) isn’t great enough to have the desired training effect. Therefore, this workout should be put into the schedule after a recovery day.

Technique

The purpose of a technique-focused workout is to teach you to use proper form, which allows your body to remain more efficient as you grow more fatigued during performance. The biggest part of the workout will be drills and, since the objective is to maintain efficiency when tired, this workout can be done when you’re not feeling at your best, perhaps after an intense training day. It may be more difficult with a tired body, but it’ll be productive if you are committed to it and remain focused on the objective throughout your workout.

Recovery  

A recovery workout can be thought of as "active rest.” These workouts are designed to prepare you for your next big workout, allowing your muscles to rest and recover, but not long enough that they become disengaged. While it may seem simple to achieve a successful “rest,” it’s the easiest workout to do incorrectly. Don’t push yourself too far during your scheduled rest periods; allow your body the time it needs to repair itself and perform even better in your next intensive workout. For these recovery days, consider taking a nice walk or a leisurely bike ride. The idea is not to lay on the couch immobile, but to engage your muscles without overexertion.

“The role of amino acids goes beyond building blocks—they are essential for the synthesis of proteins, enzymes, hormones, neurotransmitters, metabolic pathways, mental stabilization, and just about every function that takes place within the human body,” notes world-class triathlete and human performance expert, Ben Greenfield.

Adds Greenfield: “If all eight essential amino acids are present, muscle repair and recovery can start before you’re even done with your workout—and when you’re mentally stretched toward the end of a tough workout, game or race, high blood levels of amino acids [. . .] can allow the body and brain to continue to work hard instead of shutting down.”

So it makes sense, then, that incorporating an amino acid supplement into your regimen can help boost the effectiveness of your recovery process, assist with healing from an injury and power your workouts. BodyHealth’s PerfectAmino™ contains the eight essential amino acids the body needs to support and maintain its muscular, skeletal, enzymatic, and hormonal systems. The essential amino acids in PerfectAmino are in the exact proportions needed for maximum utilization by the body. PerfectAmino is 99% utilized by the body to make the protein you need to stay healthy and active.