Scaling, modifying, customizing—whatever you want to call it—isn’t a cop-out. It’s not cheating. It’s not “less than.” In fact, it’s the exact opposite. Optimizing your workout is the smartest thing you can do for your long-term success in fitness.
At RTC Fitness, we highly encourage athletes to adapt workouts to fit their abilities, needs, and goals. Yet, some still hesitate—worried that they aren’t doing “enough,” that they’re taking the easy way out, or that if they can’t do a workout exactly as written, they shouldn’t come at all.
That mindset? It’s holding you back.
Intensity Is Overrated (and Misunderstood)
Before the intensity junkies start lacing up their lifters in protest—hear me out.
If you’re finishing every workout in a sweaty pile of goo, gasping for air like you just finished an Ironman in a sauna, you’re doing it wrong. And not just wrong—you’re actually slowing down your progress.
Sure, going all-out has its place. But if you’re redlining every day, you’re missing the bigger picture. Here’s why:
1. You Can Always Go Faster—If You Have the Engine for It
Think of your body like a race car. If you’ve ever seen Fast & Furious, you remember Vin Diesel and Paul Walker (RIP) battling it out with strategic bursts of NOS. That extra boost only works if the car has the engine to handle it.
Your body is the same way. Your sprint system (glycolytic energy) is limited. If you train aerobically—building your base just below that redline—you create a much bigger engine. When it’s time to go full throttle, you’ll actually have something left to give.
2. Teach Your Body to Go the Distance
Too many people train like every workout is a 100-meter dash. They’ve conditioned their bodies to hit max effort immediately—which works great until they need to go longer.
By constantly redlining, you’re only training your body to burn sugar, making you metabolically inflexible. The better strategy? Teach your system to start efficiently and stay efficient. This doesn’t just help in workouts—it translates to how you feel throughout your entire day.
3. Going Hard All the Time Wrecks Your Recovery
If you track your heart rate variability (HRV)—which measures how well your body is recovering—you’ll notice something: frequent redlining crushes your ability to recover. You might not feel it immediately, but over time, it takes a toll.
Dialing back allows you to train more consistently, feel better, and actually make progress instead of constantly feeling drained.
How to Optimize Your Workouts and Make Real Progress
If you’re someone who lives for the throttle and struggles with pacing, here’s what you can do:
- Train in the right zones. If using a HR monitor, stay around 80% of your max heart rate (220 minus your age).
- Use the talk test. You should be able to have a conversation—maybe not recite Shakespeare, but at least tell me about your weekend.
This might mean slowing down, using lighter weights, or adjusting the workout to maintain the right intensity. And that’s not a step backward—it’s a leap forward.
The Bottom Line
Optimizing your workout isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing it better. The bigger your aerobic base, the taller your peak. By focusing on long-term sustainability instead of short-term exhaustion, you’ll:
✅ Recover faster
✅ Feel better throughout the day
✅ Enjoy training more (instead of dreading it)
✅ Stay in the game for life
At RTC, we don’t just train hard—we train smart. So next time you think scaling means you’re not working hard enough, remember this: the real cheat code is training in a way that keeps you improving for years to come.
See you in class. And no, you don’t have to do the workout as written—you just have to do it right for you.