If you want to get fit, your training stimulus must be at least the minimum effective dose. Any less than that and your body will ignore it. Also keep in mind that training benefits come during recovery. If you get more than the maximum recoverable dose, you wasted your time, extended your recovery time or risked injury.

After being away from the gym for a couple of weeks, I went in for a class that looked good. Heavy front squats followed by heavy back squats. “Yay, time to get strong!” Halfway through the session I thought, “Hmm, maybe I was too ambitious.” The rest of the week, going up and down stairs ranged from excruciating to uncomfortable.

In hindsight, I should have been more conservative. With my infrequent training lately, it wouldn’t have taken much weight to get some benefit. Instead, I got too big a dose and suffered for it. I might even have gotten worse as a result.

How do you make sure you get the right dose?