Have you ever wondered how to adjust your workouts when you’re sick? Or what to do if you haven’t exercised for several weeks and are ready to start again? How about if you just had a terrible night’s sleep?
These situations come up all the time in our coaching program, so today I want to walk you through this situation 50/50 rule: My proven strategy for helping people exercise safely and effectively when life throws you challenges.
Let’s break it down.
The 50/50 rule
Here is the premise: Do 50% of total reps and 50% of weight. (This gives you 1/4 of the total training load.)
Let’s say your workout calls for 2 sets of 10 reps with 20-pound dumbbells. Using the 50/50 rule, this results in 2 sets of 5 reps with 10-pound dumbbells.
Another example – a bodyweight exercise like push-ups, 4 sets of 6 reps. Using the 50/50 rule, this becomes 2 sets of 3 repetitions of a simpler push-up variation.
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Why it works
When your body’s resources are overtaxed – due to prolonged intense training, illness, or periods of high stress – training at the same intensity will not produce the same results. They draw water from a well that has already been exhausted.
After an illness or a long break from training, your body reacts significantly more sensitively to training stimuli than normal. The threshold for “too much” is much lower than you think.
Have you ever gotten right back into your normal workout after an illness, felt great, and then felt devastated for days? That’s exactly what happens.
The good news is that you don’t either need also so much. A scaled-back session still gives you real benefits – practicing technique, maintaining the habit, driving recovery – without digging yourself into a deeper hole.
Think of it less as “just walking” and more as exercise at the right dose for your current physical condition.
Practical applications
- Unloading – If you have been training hard continuously for 4-8 weeks, take a full week and follow the 50/50 rule. This gives your body extra time to rest and recover, so you come back stronger and ready to workout. Note: If your training schedule is inconsistent, small “breaks” are already built in, so you probably won’t need as much of a dedicated off-load week.
- disease – If it’s really mild (no fever, no muscle aches, etc.), the 50/50 rule can keep you moving while you recover (just don’t do it at the gym and make other people sick!). Once you’re sick, use it to get back on track. Start with 50/50 and then increase 10-20% each session as long as you feel and recover well.
- Terrible night’s sleep – Get in, do a 50/50 day and go home. You don’t have to suffer through an entire session. Hopefully you’ll sleep better and return to full reps and weights later in the week.
- Longer time off – Has it been a while since you trained? Apply the 50/50 rule to your first few sessions. The goal is to move and feel good, not to wipe yourself out.
The snack bar
Training isn’t about constantly training hard no matter what.
The most effective approach is to get the right amount in the right way at the right time—and the 50/50 rule gives you an easy way to do just that in a surprising number of situations.
Simple enough to remember, easy enough to implement, and it will benefit your training and recovery in the long run.
You got that. 💪
– Matt
PS: Looking for practical, practical advice without all the nonsense? That is exactly our concern Coaching program is built on it. 🔥
