Do you regularly push yourself when you workout? If you don't you may be missing out on the key ingredient in making progress - intensity. We look at the role that intensity plays in exercise programs.
Most people are conservative in their training. They have a limited number of activities that they include on a regular basis, and it takes an Act of Congress to get them to change.
Many endurance athletes in particular stick to a fairly 'vanilla' type of training regime - most sessions are at a steady pace, with maybe a hill workout or interval workout thrown in once a week.
While that will yield reasonable results, particularly if you are consistent and put in the miles, this type of training is really missing a trick.
Many times, the difference between those who make real progress and those who are stuck in a rut is not how often they workout, or how long their workouts last, but the intensity with which they train.
A recent report in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research illustrates the point very clearly.
