More isn’t always better. Sometimes, more is what’s holding you...
Fred Duncan@Fred__Duncan
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Jun 18, 2025
~1 min read
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More isn’t always better. Sometimes, more is what’s holding you back.
We love to chase stimulus… more weight, more sprint volume, more reps, more days. But at a certain point, you reach diminishing returns.
We love to chase stimulus… more weight, more sprint volume, more reps, more days. But at a certain point, you reach diminishing returns.
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A lot of athletes aren’t breaking down because they’re “weak” or “not trying hard enough.” They’re breaking down because they live in a state of chronic fatigue.
The volume just keeps stacking, year-round seasons, back to back practices, skill sessions squeezed in between
The volume just keeps stacking, year-round seasons, back to back practices, skill sessions squeezed in between
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lifts and games.
And yeah, there are definitely athletes who need more development, more strength, more skill exposure, more foundational work. But even those things only matter if you can recover from them. Your nervous system, tendons, and tissues don’t adapt in a vacuum.
And yeah, there are definitely athletes who need more development, more strength, more skill exposure, more foundational work. But even those things only matter if you can recover from them. Your nervous system, tendons, and tissues don’t adapt in a vacuum.
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They adapt between sessions, not during.
Fatigue alters mechanics. It drops force output and rate of force development. It disrupts coordination and joint stability. so it might feel like you’re doing everything right, but your body’s too beat down to benefit.
Fatigue alters mechanics. It drops force output and rate of force development. It disrupts coordination and joint stability. so it might feel like you’re doing everything right, but your body’s too beat down to benefit.
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That’s why smart programming matters.
You need a plan that takes your full schedule into account, that classifies high vs. low CNS stress, that layers intensity instead of blindly stacking it, and that knows when to push and when to pull back.
You need a plan that takes your full schedule into account, that classifies high vs. low CNS stress, that layers intensity instead of blindly stacking it, and that knows when to push and when to pull back.