Hey,
Just a quick one today.
People often find themselves in one of two extremes when it comes to exercise: either doing too little or
doing excessive amounts of training.
I know it’s easy to get lost in the flood of mixed messages online. Should you be doing more? Less? Are you working hard enough, or is your approach counterproductive?
I think it's time to clarify
just how much exercise is necessary to see meaningful improvements in your health and fitness.
Spoiler: it’s often less than you think.
For those who are already active (especially those training multiple times per week) the advice to
“do more” can be dangerously misleading. At a certain point, adding more volume doesn't equate to better results. Instead, you risk venturing into what’s known as "junk volume."
Junk volume refers to those additional sets and exercises that offer little to no added benefit. These sets can actually hurt your progress by contributing to unnecessary fatigue, mental
burnout, or even overuse injuries. When you’re doing too much, you often sacrifice quality for quantity, leaving your workouts bloated and inefficient. In reality, dialling back your volume can help you focus more on each movement, ultimately maximising your results while saving time.
Think of it this way: every extra set should have a purpose. Once you go beyond a
certain point, you’re putting in work without seeing the proportional return. You will certainly see some returns, but there comes a point when they are much less than the effort you are putting in.
Many people fall into a routine that is way above the return on investment rate that they are actually happy with. They end up doing a lot, but not actually seeing much
extra progress.
Conversely, for many people who don't currently exercise, it can feel overwhelming just knowing where to begin. The fitness industry often makes it seem like you need to do a huge amount of exercise to see any meaningful results, which can be very discouraging.
When you're constantly seeing influencers or experts pushing extreme routines, it's easy to think that anything less isn't worth it. But the truth is, you don’t need to spend hours in the gym or follow complex programs to see real progress.
I know many of you are busy, juggling work, family, and social
obligations. So, it’s important to understand the minimum effective dose for exercise e.g. the smallest effort required to make meaningful strides toward better health. Once you know what this is, you can make more informed decisions about how much time and energy you want to invest in your fitness.
For most people, a smart, efficient training plan looks something like
this:
- Two resistance training sessions per week: By training all the major muscle groups for at least 6 sets per week, you can build a strong foundation for both strength and muscle mass. These workouts don’t need to be marathon sessions, a well-structured 45-minute session twice a week is enough to see meaningful results.
- Around 10,000 steps per day: Getting your steps in is a simple yet
powerful way to maintain and build a solid level of cardiovascular fitness. It’s low-impact, accessible, and can be easily incorporated into your daily routine.
With this routine, you should see solid strength gain, muscle development, good cardio health, and, ultimately, robust overall health. Sure, you won’t be breaking world records with this schedule, but for
most people, it’s more than enough to stay healthy, functional, and fit.
This minimalist approach also allows for flexibility. You have a solid baseline that can be adapted depending on your goals and available time:
- Want to improve cardiovascular fitness? Add in some targeted cardio, either steady-state aerobic
work or shorter, more intense anaerobic sessions.
- Want to get stronger or add more muscle? Add additional resistance training or perhaps increase the volume (number of sets) in your current training sessions.
The beauty of exercise is that it can be personalised. The key takeaway is that effective training isn’t
about spending endless hours in the gym or punishing yourself with countless sets. Instead, it’s about making smart, sustainable choices that keep you enjoying life while building lasting health and fitness.
So, embrace the "less is more" approach, train smarter, not harder, and watch as your results begin to improve, all while reclaiming more time and energy for the
other things that actually matter in your life.
If you need help with your training, we do have a few coaching spaces available.
If you aren’t interested in coaching, but still want to learn, we do have a lot of free content on how to design effective training programs.
We also have an exercise program design course in the works, which we hope to have finished by summer next
year.
Chat soon,
Paddy Farrell
Gary’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drgarymcgowan/
Triage Method Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/triagemethod/
Triage Method Website: https://triagemethod.com/
Triage Method YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TriageMethod
