I want you to settle an argument. When beginning a fitness program, my friend thinks it's smarter to start really slow and work your way up. I say you should go balls out from the start, and not be such a little Nancy-boy. Will you just tell my wimpy friend that he's wrong?-The man's man from Hodgdon Hall.
No. You're wrong. This is why:
Let's review the basics behind getting in shape: building muscle, increasing cardiovascular endurance, etc. You perform some sort of exercise on a regular basis, and your body adapts to handle the stress. As your body adapts, you are forced to increase the intensity of what you're doing in order to prevent plateaus and continue progressing.
Think about it: as you get bigger/stronger/faster, you must continually make adjustments to your routine to ensure positive results. These increases in intensity can be made by manipulating a variety of different variables: frequency, duration, rep ranges, weight, distance, etc. However, increasing intensity doesn't mean maxing intensity.
Here's an example. You begin a lifting program. You have never lifted weights before, but you 'go balls out' from the start. You train one muscle group to concentric failure every workout, on a five-on, one-off cycle. You perform fifteen to twenty sets for every body part (arms included) and finish up each workout with a half hour of cardio on the elliptical or bike or whatever.
Two months later, after some initial gains, you are constantly tired, sore, unmotivated and your lifts have stopped going up. Now, your 'wimpy' friend started off more slowly. He lifted three days per week, did cardio three days per week, didn't go to concentric failure right off the bat and kept his lifting time to about an hour, doing ten or twelve sets per body part. Two months later, he is making steady progress, he is motivated, etc. Get it?
Starting off 'balls out' or 'brainless' (a more apt characterization of your training philosophy) will accomplish a couple of things. First, since you are essentially going from zero to sixty instantly, it will severely overtax your system. This will probably result in an almost immediate overtraining response - where the physical stagnation and fatigue come in. Other symptoms of overtraining are loss of motivation, loss of strength, loss of weight and constant soreness (joints, muscles ... it all hurts).
Second, since you are pretty much maxing out your intensity - even if, by some freak genetic gift you don't slip into immediate overtraining - you will find it difficult to increase your workload. What variables do you have to work with? Frequency? No, you already lift six days a week. Weight? Probably not, since you are going to failure every set.
More likely, you'll have to decrease the weight to perform the number of reps you're doing for each set. Volume? Well, if you aren't against spending two hours in the gym, then I suppose you could add a few more sets per body part (this is obviously contingent on the presence or lack of a social life ... if you have no friends, then by all means spend all your free time lifting. It won't make for a very pleasing existence, let me tell you...).
Why does your buddy's plan of attack work so much better? Because fitness gains are made gradually. You adapt (read: get stronger/bigger/faster), and then move to the next level. So your friend keeps this in mind and works patiently and slowly, making solid gains without going overboard. He makes sure he gets enough recovery time to avoid over training, he keeps his intensity variables toned down until he needs to increase one of them, and he maintains his interest because he is not spending excessive amounts of time in the gym.
So what does this all mean? Well, in short, it means work smarter, not harder. More sets/reps/frequency/distance/etc. is not necessarily the way to go. To get a better understanding or to apply it to yourself, pick up a TPPP card in the gym and treat yourself to five free personal training sessions.
