More training is not always better: supercompensation explained

Training six or seven days a week? Feeling more tired instead of fitter? There’s a name for that, and a fix.

How you actually get stronger

Training doesn’t make you stronger. Recovery does. A workout breaks you down a little; in the hours and days after, your body rebuilds slightly stronger than before. That rebound is called supercompensation.

Train again at the top of the rebound and you climb. Train too soon, every day, without sleep, and you dig a hole instead.

Signs you are digging

• Performance going down despite training more
• Constant soreness that never clears
• Bad sleep, short fuse, no appetite for training

What we recommend

For most members: three to four classes a week, spread out, with real sleep. Our programming already alternates heavy and light days for you. The extra rest day is not laziness. It is where the progress happens.