This week on Barbell Shrugged we chat with Joel Jamieson, leading expert on combat sport training and founder of 8WeeksOut.com.    If Joel’s name rings a bell that’s because he’s the author of Ultimate MMA Conditioning, which made ourtop 10 list of books that every Crossfitter should read. He’s also the creator of the BioForce HRV Training Management System, an awesome tool that uses heart rate variability as a measure of fatigue and training readiness.    If you’re interested in performance then you really should be considering HRV. Why not?   Great programming is all about balance. You have to know when to push forward, and when to back down so you can live to fight another day. Keeping the balance that makes extraordinary results and sustained progress possible. But that’s easier said than done. Without a clear measure of readiness it’s really easy to push too hard, too soon.    Any coach or athlete worth their weight in chalk expects to see great results. They are driven to succeed, they are quickly drawn towards high intensity and fancy tools because that’s what the best use, right? Right, but rushing towards that result is the easiest mistake to make. The only thing it gets you is a weak and unsound foundation, poor mechanics, probably injury, and inevitably, a quick and messy exit from the sport you enjoy.

 We can do better than that. 

The coach and athlete have to communicate and understand all the gaps in the game up front. They have to take the time and cultivate the base before things get intense and the fancy toys come out. From there the push can build and build, but not without careful monitoring. 

Every stress has to be considered, every addition to the training program must be accounted for. That’s what makes measures such as heart rate variability so damn useful. It’s an early warning to correct course before the rush takes hold, before the wear, tear and bad habits really start to set in. 

Without that data programming is only educated guesses and serial assumptions.

Be honest, assess status, progress slowly, get all the data you can, then regulate the plan. Be honest, quantify it. That’s the quickest path to improved performance. 

Cheers,Chris Moore