Testing vs Training, when to do what?

Testing your capacity vs Training to improve it can be two very different things, and yet some times you can get away with using a "Test" of a workout to improve your capacity in the future - let's define what's the difference and when we think you should think about TRAINING instead of Testing to make even bigger progress line up in the future!

First, what's the difference between Testing vs Training?

In short we can describe it like this:

• TESTING is when you are maxing out in for instance a gymnastic effort, a heavy lift, or a workout "for time" that you can then re-test at a later stage. Testing often means that we are focusing on ONE variable only (like how many reps you can do of a movement, how much weight you can lift for a 5/3/1 "Rep Max", or how fast you can complete a given task as an example.
  
  
• TRAINING is when you are simply doing workouts that are designed to improve the above test performance, and for the sake of this Blog also approach with a 100% mindset to rather focus on how you can BECOME better (as in fitter & stronger) in the future from how you approach that workout, vs being focused on your "Score" of that WOD (Workout Of the Day).

OK, what's the point and how does that help me chose between Testing & Training?

Well in short the message is quite simple: don't turn your TRAINING WOD's into TESTING workouts, and on the flip side make sure to put in a full effort in your TESTS to walk away with valuable data on how your test markers measure up in all different areas of your Fitness.

So as an example, many of our WOD's will contain a "scoring opportunity" like FOR TIME, or AMRAP (as many reps as possible), and yes: we are using that to produce RELATIVELY HIGH INTENSITY a motivation for you to push each workout as hard as you can to achieve the "best results" in those WOD's. 
But... those are just there to give you direction, and what's often more important than "HOW FAST / HOW MANY" is simple HOW did you do that WOD..?
Don't get us wrong, we want you to push yourself hard in each WOD, but during Training WOD's it's also very important (or even more important) to focus on things like Technique, Pacing, Loads moved (well!), and other variables that increases our capacity over time.

Whilst, in a TESTING WOD, without saying that we don't worry about pacing or technique, it's time to push the envelope to really maximise performance.

Yeah, that's quite self explanatory, but how much should I do of each?

This is when it gets interesting! Because, we often see that athletes wants to max out their performance in every single WOD they do, and as such turning TRAINING workouts into TESTING workouts - when in reality we believe that MOST of your workouts should not be treated as "TESTS", but rather as training.
We're mentioning this as we are currently going through a month where we have more tests than usual, as we're re-testing a bunch of our Super Human Functionality Project-test markers, but then if you to take a look at how our programming is structured over the course of a year as an example you'll realise that we actually spend way less time TESTING vs TRAINING..

As a rule of thumb we think your training protocol should look something like this:

• 90-95% TRAINING.
• 5-10% TESTING.

Sounds great, I still don't have a clue what the difference between Testing & Training is..?

Completely understandable, especially due to the "For Time" / "As much work as possible" variables mentioned above being used as "Scoring Opportunities" in our training, so let's define it better!

In a TRAINING session you can absolutely choose to only allowing yourself to complete reps at a pace where you are keeping GOOD mechanics. Or, you can (and should) work with loads that allows you for your best possible weightlifting mechanics rather than going "as heavy as possible", regardless of what the "RX" (prescribed) load is..

In a TRAINING session, you should try to learn what YOUR sustainable paces are, as in how fast can you go through a round of the given work and then repeat it for as long as the workout is? 
It's even totally ok to walk out of a TRAINING session saying: "I felt like I could've pushed myself a bit harder in the end, but now I know that I have more capacity than I thought..".

TESTING however is a bit different, this is when we want to really maximise our effort to the point where we even risk "failing" in a workout! This might mean attempting weights that you are unsure if you can lift (as long as you know how to fail them safely), and it might even mean pushing yourself a bit harder in the beginning of a workout than you think you should, just to see if you can maintain it.

Be smart though, TESTING is also meant to be an opportunity to really improve previous performances = no need to go all out on a 20min WOD if you know you're going to crash and burn after 4-5 minutes. Pushing hard doesn't mean being reckless..

Kind of make sense, can you give some specific examples?

Ah, well thank you for asking! Below we have some more specific guidelines for you.

WEIGHTLIFTING

• Program says "BUILD TO HEAVY"? 
  Go relatively heavy from the start, and build to something that you KNOW you can get, but that's challenging. We really should avoid failed sets here and the objective is to move what's heavy for you, but with GREAT TECHNIQUE.
  Make sure that every set is still tough so that you are getting a STRENGTHENING effect from it!
• Program says "xRM"? 
  This is the time to really MAX OUT. The only set that really counts is the one where you are trying to hit a PB, which means that we should use the build up sets as... a build up!

GYMNASTICS

• Program says "EMOM of Pull Ups/Push Ups/Rope Climbs/etc" or "For Time"/"AMRAP" of a set number of reps of a given gymnastic movement?
  Firstly, it's ok to push your limits skill wise, BUT choose movements that you CAN do in these types of WOD's.
  Secondly, instead of "trying to do as many as possible, and then see if I survive, rather work with a rep scheme of each movement that is REPEATABLE so that you can both stay sustainable in your pace, and also perform each rep with GOOD MECHANICS.
• Program says "Max Effort"?
  Well, make sure to put in a max effort... (duh).
• Program says "For Hardest Variation"?
  This is the day when we want to see if we have built enough capacity to "level up", as an example from a banded pull up to a strict pull up, or from a regular rope climb to a legless rope climb = great opportunity to try the NEXT step in progressing your gymnastic skills.
  NB: It's important to note that we should try to progress ONE step at the time. If you've just gotten your first Kipping Pull Ups (hopefully after being able to perform multiple STRICT Pull Ups because your Coaches are great and teaches this philosophy "Strict before Kipping"), there's no reason to try to see if you can do a Bar Muscle Up before you've mastered the Kipping CTB Pull Up..

CARDIO WODs/MetCons (Metabolic Conditioning WODs)

• Program says "FOR TIME", but it's not a Benchmark (as in a WOD we'll repeat)?
  This is TRAINING = yes we are pushing hard, but we are truly trying to approach the WOD with a plan that we believe is sustainable and allows for the absolutely best MECHANICS in all movements.
• Program is a TEST WOD what we know will show up again, and is also measured against previous performances?
  This is the day when we want to stretch ourselves and really push the envelope in how we approach the WOD. This should still be done with a reasonable plan in place, but it's ok to "gamble" a bit to see how your hard work has paid off.

Like said, we're sharing this right now as we are kind of in the middle of a TESTING heavy training period, but...

We also give you plenty of opportunities to just TRAIN. It's important to understand these differences if you want to have both unmatched results, AND longevity within your training form.
Show up for a class that is not necessarily a Benchmark and do your best to find the best sustainable pacing, movement selection and loads that allows for crisp technique - and avoid over focusing on your "SCORE" - and we think that you'll be surprised by how much you actually have improved the next time it's time to TEST your fitness!

Remember that Fitness is a lifelong journey meant to continuously make you Happier, Healthier & Fitter. 

Your Team at