How to figure out if the latest training fad works for you
Every few years there is a news cycle that trumpets the performance benefits of high intensity interval training (HIIT) or some other flashy magic workout.
The running media picks up on the cycle and, all of a sudden, everyone online can't help but chat about when their next HIIT session is or how they are running so much faster since incorporating the workout into their training.
Then, the fad dies out. The track is filled with less runners busting out interval sessions. Everyone is back to their old training routine.
The concept slowly filters out of everyone's memory after around 24 months.
Then, right when it has been forgotten about, a new article is out and HIIT is back atop everyone's minds again!
Lather, rinse, repeat.
While it is always important to stick to the tried-and-true principles of training, the reality is that a lot of runner actually will benefit from a lot of these "training fads" such as HIIT.
The problem is that the boom-bust nature of the hype surrounding these magic workouts usually means that runners are doing too many of these workouts and then too few of these workouts.
It makes sense to try new things because one of the best ways to accelerate your progress is to be open to experimentation and innovations in your training routine.
However, you must be measured about what you incorporate into your routine.
You cannot just slide new fad workouts in without rhyme or reason.
The challenge is:
How do you know the new workout actually worked?
Was it any better than what you typically do?
To answer those questions, you need to be collecting data.
Data from Stryd gives you a dependable view into your performance and how your body responds to new workouts.
For example:
If you are serious about improving your Leg Spring Stiffness, you should experiment by adding a few weeks of plyometrics into your training routine.
You could begin to see positive adaptations in your Leg Spring Stiffness after just two weeks.
If not, you could abandon the plyometrics and experiment with hill sprints next to see if you respond better to that exercise. If that doesn't work, you would try speed work next.
Through relentless experimentation, you will find something that works to improve your Leg Spring Stiffness.
Instead of hopelessly jumping from fad to fad, you need seize control of your experimentation process to determine what workouts you respond best to so you can continually refine your workout routine.
This experimentation process becomes possible with the help of Stryd's metrics.
If you would like to start collecting data, you can get Stryd at the link below:
https://store.stryd.com/