Ever tried fitting in a suit that wasn’t tailored for you and being stuck in it?
Neither have I- but I’d imagine it’d be similar to jumping into a training program that wasn’t tailored for you.
Now I know ‘training by feel’ sounds very vague- but hear me out.
The Theory of Autoregulation stems from The Principle of Individuality- It’s a structured means for honoring individual variation within program design.
Why is this important? Well for one gyms are starting to open back up, secondly- people adapt at different rates.
Uber important as managing recovery is half the battle of program design.
1. Our readiness to train, rate of recovery, and session performance are influenced by multiple variables that you may not have full control over (sleep, stress, state of mind, nutrition- for females mensural cycle phase).
2. We can be very reliable sources of information regarding our own readiness to train. Subjective data is just as important as objective data.
In 2018 Dr. Eric Helms published a study comparing the effects of two loading methods:
1) Autoregulation via rating of perceived exertion (RPE) based on reps in reserve (RIR)
-vs-
2) %1RM based fixed loading
Results hinted at the benefits of an autoregulatory RPE based approach over fixed loading for strength development. Further evidence by Graham et al. (2019 Autoregulation by "Repetitions in Reserve") supports previous findings that training using RPE/RIR based autoregulation had greater strength outcomes compared to the traditional %1RM-based fixed load approach- this was accompanied by greater weekly intensities of effort when training loads were autoregulated via RPE/RIR.
Pretty cool stuff!⠀
This was the topic of conversation for @anabolicradio ’s newest episode with @helms3dmj where we spoke about everything related to recovery including biofeedback signals, autoregulation, the fitness-fatigue model, deloading, and much more.
Available on all streaming platforms! Have you ever utilized autoregulation? Chances are you probably have, but just don’t know it!