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The intensity of training does not depend only on the exercises

It is true that there are more / less tiring exercises but the same martial workout, depending on how we handle it, may turn into a normal, heavy or light one.

Note – This article has been asked by one of our Core Course practitioners on Patreon (see how to attend our home study classes here Learn Kung Fu online: a beginner-to-expert course).

The discriminant is the way we deal with the exercises we choose to perform:

Mentally
Physically

For example, if we have not already developed good self-discipline (read Having discipline: do not contradict ourselves), the way we decide to address the practice could easily be determined, in turn, by external factors like:

The weather conditions (read also Fighting and mind control: the anchors)
The interactions with other people (read also 5 effective ways to find a training partner)
Bad digestion quality (read Qi and proper nutrition)
Lack of motivation (read Workout music: how, when, why)
Bad time organization (read /// Subscribe (it's free!) or Login to see this content ///)
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A note by Master Kongling – It is for this reason that 6 Dragons Kung Fu stresses the constant research of discipline, concentration and preparation (read How to train with perseverance).

What makes a training session more or less tiring?

1. Physically

The intensity of a training session depends physically on:

The variety of exercises – Performing every day (or worse on the same day) always and only the same exercises, in the same way, is absolutely wrong; in fact, our body automatically creates a sort of resistance and an attitude / habit that allows it to optimize the use of our energies in favor of a lower waste of resources; the problem is that if we want to increase our capabilities (and our muscle memory, read The right way to develop muscle memory) this kind of practice will only limit our growth (read Same exercises, different execution)
The order of the exercise – If the body elements involved and the level of effort is not well alternated / distributed, we risk to concentrate all the fatigue on a single area, leaving the other ones completely inerts; we always have to calibrate recovery and work sequences in a balanced manner with an increment and progressive decrement (read 6 Dragons Kung Fu training sessions’ structure)
The type of repetition count – While exercises with fixed repetitions (eg. 25 times, 10 turns, etc.) can be run in a wider elastic range (thus distributing effort), the ones that provide the maximum number of repetitions in a given time, force us instead to always reach our limit (the effort is therefore much higher); there is a big difference between doing 100 kicks in 5 minutes and executing the highest number of kicks in the same time (in the second case we have a variable, in the first a constant); the best method is to fix a basic (but increasing) number of repetition leaving the remaining time to everything that we can give in excess
The pauses and the recovery times – If we “lose” a lot of time (eg. 5 minutes every 10) between the exercises (moving, organizing the material, following distractions, reading the execution’s instructions, relaxing, thinking, etc.) it is inevitable that the consequent effort and therefore the training activity will be lower; if we correctly prepare our training before its start (modes, spaces, necessary tools, etc.), we will make everything work more efficiently (even and especially the recovery times have to be planned and not be random); the same reasoning can be applied in terms of days of practice and rest, if we do not give the time to our organism to restore our body (strengthening of muscle fibers, etc.) our effort will be always bigger and we will limit our growth
The training equipment – Apart from the obvious factor linked to weight, dimensions (etc.), the difference in effort can be accentuated by more or less professional tools / wearings, able to hinder or facilitate the execution of the exercises (the most professional equipment is not automatically the most appropriate choice, read also The basic equipment for training in 6DKF); generally it is preferable to use everything that makes the practice more effective and reasonable rather than extreme or bland
Our state of health – If we are even slightly victim of any kind of malaise (illnesses, injuries, etc.), our performances will be reduced proportionally to what we suffer; it is important to carefully evaluate the risks / benefits involved with the martial practice, in some case it can help (eg. by heating / reinvigorating the body), in other cases it can simply mean worsening and / or speeding up our physical decay (eg. forcing an inflamed muscle); in many situations it is better to skip a training session rather than forcing us to remain in bed for 3-7 days; it is up to us to be in confidence with our body / mind and to know their limits and potentials
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2. Mentally

On the mental point of view, the workout effort depends on:

The importance we give to the practice – If we decide to strive to give everything that our body is reasonably able to do (speed, power, etc.), we will train in a very profitable way but if we look at the practice as a countdown we want to end, the weight of our training will severely increase (damaging our martial and athletic growth); for example, running on a tapis roulant, could become frustrating 10 times before the real end of our energies, the key is to focus on the idea to execute a better movement each time (in other words, we have to always find a way to implement the mind)
Our concentration level – If our thought is completely focused on the idea of getting an improvement (giving the most and of comprehending the sense of the practice), we will not experience much of the physical fatigue of our actions and we will be able to perform the exercises infinitely better than having a bored / frayed / dispersed state of mind; a classic example is the practice of the Kung Fu forms (read Are Karate’s Kata, Kung Fu’s form (etc.) useless?), in most cases we get tired much earlier mentally rather than physically
The type of goal to be achieved – Without a concrete goal to achieve our workout will be focused (at best) on a slight improvement but if we have a real and specific result we want to reach, we will get there by constantly giving the maximum; this is the difference between jumping for jumping and jumping to dodge an obstacle, or to prepare legs to do an acrobatic technique; let’s be clear, the main objective is and must always remain to improve every day but in the specifics of the exercises it is useful to focus from time to time on some (reasonable) micro objectives to be achieved
Our passion – In the context of a serious life-long training path, passion is surely not enough strong to replace self-discipline (it is inconsistent and scarce in terms of endurance, read Motivation: from passion to self-discipline) but when it is with us, we can do things that no one could do and without feeling any kind of effort; it is similar to concentration but taken to an extremely superior level (time pass at the speed of light); on the other side, when it is totally absent (or worse there is directly aversion) the fatigue increases exponentially
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Same times, same exercises, different results.

Final notes

Let’s conclude with a few tips and considerations:

It is natural that we can not always give 100% of what we could but if we tackle the ways and attitudes with which we deal with the martial practice, it is certain that our yield will be drastically and exponentially increased
One of the most effective ways we use to evaluate the real difference between the felt effort and the physical one is to simply check the amount of calories consumption (if we do not want to make complex calculations we can simply buy a portable heart rate monitor)
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In the next article of this series, we will see how to set the intensity of our workout in relation to our level of preparation, psychophysical conditions and medium / long-term goals.

In-depth video courses

Basic 6 Dragons Kung Fu Exercises – The exercises that in addition to build martial skills, occupy our mind (making the practice fun and less tiring)

In-depth articles

Achieve maximum performance – How to reach our peak performance
Analysis and improvement of performance – How to control our martial growth

Questions

Reply in the comments and share your experience:

Have you ever found large differences in terms of effort by practicing the same exercises?

Author: Master Kongling

Founder of 6 Dragons Kung Fu.

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