The Workhorse TRAP
This week I've spoken with a number of athletes who have serious goals. Real ones. The kind they're willing to make a significant investment to achieve. They understand the sacrifices involved, they're willing to listen, they believe in the process, and they know it's going to be hard, and there is the possibility that they may fail.
Every single one of them asked the same thing: how much more do they need to train? Not how do I sleep better, not how do I move more efficiently, how much volume do I need.
That's where their thoughts go first.
This is a problem!
Don't get me wrong, more volume can be part of the solution. But it's rarely where you should start and for the athletes I'm talking about, it's almost never the answer.
These aren't people who show up to class three times a week and call it a day. They're already in the gym most mornings and evenings. They're spending significant chunks of their weekend moving a barbell and grinding through row intervals. They do the accessory work. They do the stretching the coach yells about at the end of class. They show up after long days and early after late nights. They’re already doing the hard stuff.
So how exactly is more volume the answer?
Here's the math:
(Quality × (Volume + Intensity + Load) / R&R) × Coaching = Results
Quality is about you specifically, not a generalised programme. Platforms like PRVN and HWPO are excellent. There are countless hours of expertise behind their programming, and people absolutely get results from them. But generalised results won't cut it when you're already starting behind.
Think of it like joining a game of Monopoly. Only in this example the other players already have hotels on the board. You've been handed the car token and a few dollars to cover your first rent, but simply hoping you roll well all the way to Free Parking is not a plan - it’s going in blind folded.
Individualised programming could make you 5-10% better (if not more) without changing a single other variable.
Volume, Intensity, and Load, when managed correctly, will build your athleticism: endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, coordination, agility, balance, accuracy, power, speed. But managed poorly, the same will easily make things worse.
Before adding volume, ask yourself, is there actually space for it? Once you've protected time for rest and recovery, appropriate refuelling (nutrition), and mental health, then ask whether more training fits. If it does, great. If it doesn't, adding it anyway won't produce the result you're after.
Rest and Recovery (R&R). Are you driving with your foot flat to the floor, hoping the engine holds? You can spend all the money you have on massage, cold plunge, sauna, dry needling, and supplements. But if you're running on Monster and four hours of sleep, you will eventually break. Sleep is free. It is also the single most important recovery tool available to you, and it's where every R&R conversation needs to start.
Prioritising sleep alone could unlock another 5-10% of performance.
Efficiency is the next lever and it's one most athletes underestimate.
If you were betting on a Formula One race, and your two options were Lewis Hamilton (seven-time world champion) or Travis Pastrana (Nitro Circus legend on a motocross bike), the answer is Hamilton, every time. Not because he tries harder, but because he knows exactly how to drive the car. He knows where to brake, where to accelerate, how to hold a line. He is ruthlessly efficient.
Moving better, more efficiently is worth at least another 5-10%.
Coaching, having someone who actually knows you is the final piece. Where can you shave seconds? Where can you take risk? Where can you reduce rest and where do you need it? How do you manage your weaknesses? A good coach doesn't just write your programme, they help you execute all parts of being an athlete better than you could alone.
That's another 5-10%.
Add those up and you're pretty close to a 50% improvement - without a single extra session added to your week.
More volume is an answer. It's just rarely the first one.