Daily Set Training

What would happen if you did one set of a particularly difficult exercise every day for a month? 

Would you overtrain? Would you build strength? Or would you just get so sick and tired of the exercise that you never wanna do it again?

That’s exactly what I said out to discover a little over a month ago when I decided to do a set of handstands and back bridges every day. Here’s what I discovered.

#1 I became much more comfortable with doing the exercises.

The biggest change over the past month is exactly what I started the experiment to accomplish, which was to become much more comfortable with doing handstands and bridges.

I always felt awkward and uncoordinated while practicing them and so I didn’t practice that much which only further made me feel awkward. But practicing them more frequently ensured that I became more comfortable and even got to enjoy doing them.

#2 I became stronger and more mobile.

A lot of strength and mobility depend on the adaptations of the nervous system. Like with any neural conditioning, a.k.a. the formation of habits, repetition, and practice are essential. The more I practiced the exercises, the stronger and more mobile I developed.

I could extend myself more on the bridge, and holding a handstand felt much easier by the end of the month. The biggest difference was my shoulder strength and mobility, which had long prevented me from progressing in both exercises.

#3 I got a lot more proficient at the exercise, even though I never felt like I was getting better at it.

The funny thing is, I never felt like the exercises improved day by day. There were several days throughout the month when I felt like I was getting worse at them.

But looking back, I can tell a lot of progress was made even though days felt like I wasn’t moving the needle.

It shows that long-term progress often happens despite the short-term perception of progress.

#4 Becoming more action-ready.

Lastly, I am more mobile and physically more capable daily, despite not practicing a warm-up or stretching out.

I’ve long believed that you don’t need to warm up to exercise, but much of the time, it’s about recovering from days of being sedentary. Being active, even a little bit, every day meant that my body never returned to a stiff and tight state for more than 24 hours. My ability to move and be active was maintained and far more accessible at a moment's notice.

Practicing a set or two of a given exercise every day isn’t for everyone, but it may be worth a try if you’re struggling to feel you’re making progress and becoming proficient in an exercise. Just be sure to listen to your body and don’t push yourself to the limit every time so you don’t burn yourself out.