Credit: @benbergeron / Instagram

Have you ever felt stuck with your progress in the gym?

You consistently make it to the box three days a week, but your progress has stalled. You know you should probably train more often, but you worry about burnout or injury.

• It’s a common dilemma, and one listener, Kyle, recently faced after 16 years of CrossFit. In a recent episode of Chasing Excellence, Kyle shared how he successfully transitioned from training three days a week to four or five days — a change that revitalized his fitness journey at age 50.

His secret? Understanding that consistency matters more than intensity in every single workout.

The Consistency Before Intensity Principle

Many gym-goers get this backward.

They believe every workout needs to be an all-out effort — that unless they’re leaving the gym completely spent, they haven’t really “worked out.”

This mindset isn’t just wrong; it actively prevents the consistency that drives real progress.

• Greg Glassman, CrossFit’s founder, originally laid this out clearly: first focus on mechanics (moving well), then consistency (regular training), and only then intensity.

Yet somehow, this hierarchy often gets flipped upside down.

There’s a critical inverse relationship between intensity and volume.

Simply put: the more frequently you train, the more you need to vary your intensity.

If you’re going all-out five or six days a week, you’re likely missing the actual stimulus your body needs and setting yourself up for burnout or injury.

The Science Behind More Frequent Training

I recently discovered a study published in Circulation highlighting why training frequency is so important.

This two-year randomized controlled trial demonstrated that exercising four to five times a week could actually reverse damage from a sedentary lifestyle and an aging heart, provided it began before age 65.

• The results were remarkable: an 18 percent improvement in oxygen uptake and a significant reduction in cardiac stiffness.

The researchers found that two years of exercise training decreased cardiac stiffness by 25 percent, which is substantial considering that cardiac stiffness typically increases with age.

What made this protocol effective?

It wasn’t just high-intensity training but a balanced mix of moderate-intensity sessions, high-intensity intervals, and strength training.

This carefully designed program delivered significant cardiovascular improvements compared to control groups that only performed balance and flexibility exercises.

We must reach that five-to-six-day-per-week prescription, and anything that stands in the way — like excessive intensity — needs to be eliminated.

How to Successfully Increase Your Training Frequency

If you’re looking to increase your training frequency like Kyle did, here’s how to do it right:

1. Give yourself permission to back off. Not every day needs to be at maximum effort. Some days can be at 50-65 percent intensity, focusing simply on movement quality.
2. Communicate with your coach. Tell them your strategy: “I’m trying to ramp up from three to four or five days a week because I believe it will benefit me. I’m going to purposely take some of those days as back-off days.”
3. Understand the real goal. The goal of training isn’t just to crush yourself every session – it’s to get back there tomorrow. Anything that interferes with that should be questioned.
4. Embrace the “minimum effective dose” principle. What’s the minimum amount of work needed to create the adaptation you want? You’re not trying to win the gym every single day – you’re trying to make sure you’re still showing up in 20 years.

Why Consistency Trumps Occasional Intensity

The path to long-term fitness isn’t paved with sporadic, kill-yourself workouts. It’s built on consistent attendance, proper movement, and applying intentional effort.

• Think about it this way: the original CrossFit prescription begins with “train five or six days a week” before mentioning intensity.

We’re designed to move regularly, not occasionally pushing ourselves to extremes while remaining sedentary the rest of the time.

When you prioritize consistency over intensity, several outcomes occur:

• You recover better between sessions.
• You experience fewer injuries.
• You enjoy training more.
• You see more balanced progress across various aspects of fitness.
• You establish sustainable habits that last a lifetime.

The Back-Off Day Mindset

Here’s your new rule of thumb: to train more frequently, implement scheduled “back-off” days.

These aren’t rest days—you’re still showing up and moving—but days when you intentionally reduce the volume, load, or intensity.

I experienced this myself recently.

During a workout with bike intervals and burpee box jumps, I substituted the high-impact burpees with Spider-Man stretches. Three other people in my class did the same thing.

Why?

Because we all understood this crucial truth: the prescription isn’t to throw down as hard as possible daily.

When you give yourself permission to occasionally dial back the intensity, you enable greater consistency. And consistency, over time, transforms your fitness and your life.

—

Ben Bergeron is the co-host of the Chasing Excellence podcast, the founder of CompTrain, and the owner of CompTrain New England.

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Schedule for the week= Monday-Thursday 5 am 6 am, 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm.  Friday 5 am and 6 am will be the last classes until after Memorial Day.

Workouts this week-  lunge/SDHP/Situp/Box jump session, Cali Bear, run/push press partner WOD, Mini CINDY, BACK SQUATS

See you at the gym

3,2,1 GO!

DEAN