Ditch Your "MORE IS BETTER" Mindset For Better Results!
Jan 26, 2026Most people are wired to believe one thing about training:
More is better. Heavier is better. More sessions is better. Longer sessions is better.
More sets, more reps, more miles, more suffering… more progress.
And maybe sometimes that’s true.
But a lot of the time, that mindset just turns into more fatigue and more wear and tear, while results stay the same — or actually get worse.
So let’s talk about it.
Most People Aren’t Chasing Gym Gains
Something that often gets missed in fitness conversations:
Most people aren’t chasing gym gains. They’re chasing life gains.
They want:
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More energy day to day
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Less pain and stiffness
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To enjoy activities and feel capable of doing anything they want and need to do
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To ultimately enjoy life more
The gym is just the tool we use to support that.
Training should make life easier, not harder. When workouts start stealing energy from the rest of your life, something is off — even if the program looks impressive on paper.
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When “Going Hard” Becomes the Goal
Intensity, volume, and frequency are all tools. The problem starts when they turn into a personality trait.
When “going hard” becomes the goal instead of adaptation, here’s what I usually see:
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Sloppy reps later in sessions
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Poor recovery between workouts
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Nagging aches and pains
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Actual injury
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Eventually, maybe, probably... burnout
You’re doing more work, but you’re not improving how you feel or function.
I saw this a lot earlier in my coaching career, especially in the old school CrossFit days. And this isn’t a knock on CrossFit — things are much better now. But back then, many gyms lived in a GO HARD 24/7 mindset.
Less structure.
Less long term progression.
More “send it.”
And predictably, a lot of people ended up beat up.
The issue wasn’t CrossFit itself.
It was the belief that if hard is good, harder must be better.
The Concept That Actually Matters: Minimum Effective Dose
What actually drives progress for most people is something called the minimum effective dose.
That simply means:
The least amount of work needed to produce meaningful results.
Not maximal. Not heroic. Just enough.
This is where a lot of people get surprised.
From both research and real world coaching experience, we see that you can do far less than you think and still make excellent progress — especially when consistency and recovery are dialed in.
What This Looks Like in Practice
For strength and muscle:
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Training 2-3 days per week is plenty for most people
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As little as 1-3 challenging sets per muscle group per session can drive gains
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You don’t need to train to failure all the time
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Progressive overload and good technique matter more than crushing volume
For aerobic fitness and conditioning:
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2-4 aerobic-focused sessions per week can significantly improve capacity
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Sessions don’t need to be long — 20-45 minutes often does the job
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Sustainable, repeatable efforts
When you zoom out, this means you can:
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Lift a few times per week
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Build aerobic fitness
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Recover well
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Improve strength, conditioning, movement quality, and energy levels
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And still have gas left for the rest of your life outside of the gym
For most people, doing slightly less — but doing it consistently — produces better results than trying to do everything all at once.
Progress Comes From Recoverable Work
This is the part that ties everything together.
Progress doesn’t come from doing the most work possible.
It comes from doing recoverable work.
More training isn’t better if it:
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Wrecks your joints
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Trashes your sleep
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Makes you dread sessions
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Or makes life harder outside the gym
The best training plan is the one that improves both your performance and your quality of life.
So instead of asking:
“How can I do more?”
A better question is:
What’s the least I can do and still feel strong, capable, and good in my body?
That’s where long term progress actually lives.
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