In Japanese the word Kaizen means constant and never ending improvement via small, incremental steps. Traditionally this has been applied to the business environment however I also read about the Kaizen Principle being applied to fitness training in one of Charles Poliquin’s excellent books The Poliquin Principles. It really struck a chord with me and I have been using the principle ever since in my own fitness programs and those of my training clients. Applied to fitness training the Kaizen principle implies that you must seek a small improvement each and every time you perform a workout. Over the long haul these small improvements add up to some really impressive gains.
Merging bodyweight exercise and the Kaizen Principle is a little trickier than traditional weight lifting as the monitoring of performance improvements is not quite as simple. When performing compound barbell movements like the squat, deadlift and bench press you can keep all your training parameters the same and simply look to add additional resistance to the bar each time your perform a movement (commonly known as linear progression). However, when using bodyweight exercises it is not quite this easy. You can of course use an adjustable weighted vest, ankle weights or bands to add resistance to certain exercises however this is not always optimal and/or possible. Instead you have to look to other performance markers such as:
1. Successfully completing a harder exercise progression
2. Improved movement quality (quite a subjective measure)
3. Increase in repetitions (or duration for isometrics)
4. Reduced rest intervals between sets
5. Increased workout density (good for fat loss)
The first two markers in this list are more closely related to strength and skill development, the middle marker is a good indicator of both strength and work capacity improvement (depending on the number of reps in question) and the latter two markers are good measures of work capacity improvements.
Arguably increasing the total amount of work performed in a workout (volume) could be gauged as a performance improvement too however I normally prefer to focus on quality over quantity as adding more and more volume to a workout will begin to seriously eat into your powers of recovery and exponentially increase the chances of injuries and niggles rearing their ugly head.
As I discuss in my Gymless Training System eBooks the Kaizen mindset can also help determine how often you should train. As a general rule I like the following mantra:
“If you feel fresh enough and strong enough to improve on your previous workout then go for it. If you still feel tired and sore and doubt you will achieve any performance improvements then rest for a further day or two”
Remember, there is no one size fits all training formula which we should all use for optimal gains in strength and performance. Our age, training experience, biomechanics, injury history, recovery rates, day jobs, family commitments, sleep cycles all vary to such an extent that it is impossible to prescribe a one size fits all solution. Instead I recommend using the Kaizen Principle mindset to determine your workout frequency. If you feel like you are fresh enough and strong enough to beat your previous workout totals then go for it. If not, then back off for a further day or two and focus instead on some low intensity restorative exercise techniques.
Using previous workout scores, optimal workout frequency and the Kaizen concept I regularly see people push much harder than they otherwise would in a workout in order to top their scores and continue moving forward. Obviously you cannot improve forever in a particular workout (or else we would all be able to jump over buildings and run through walls) so once you feel progress stalling (or even before you start stalling) ensure you switch things around with new exercises and/or a new training focus. Typically beginners will be able to make progress for longer before hitting a plateau whilst more advanced trainees will likely have to swap things around more regularly to make progress.
Remember… small gains in the short term, big gains in the long term!
PS - The one time I would ignore the Kaizen Principle is during your recharge/recovery weeks. Here the focus should be on effective recovery and not performance improvements!
