You Can’t Do Both: Pick Intensity or Volume (Day 8)

I’ve always been someone who likes to push myself.

Whether it’s in the gym, in my work, or any kind of challenge I take on — I tend to go hard. If I’m doing something, I want to give it everything. And for the most part, I’ve been able to get away with that.

But recently, I’ve started to feel the cost. Not all at once, but in subtle ways that creep in — low energy, lack of motivation, needing an extra coffee or two just to get going, and more than anything, just a sense that I’m running on fumes.

This has lead me to have three big realisations:

#1: You can’t optimise for intensity and volume simultaneously.

There’s a point where intensity stops being productive and starts becoming draining. Just because I can push hard most days doesn’t mean I should.

I’m starting to notice that the things I usually enjoy — deep creative work, training, even coaching — start to feel like a grind when I go too hard for too long. I have to force myself through with willpower. And that’s the warning sign.

The body teaches you this truth quickly.

Take powerlifting, for example. I’m training to get strong in the squat, bench, and deadlift. One of the biggest factors in getting stronger is training volume — how much total work you do in a week.

But another key factor is intensity — how close you’re lifting to your max. Ideally, you’d want both. But in reality, the nervous system can’t recover if both are maxed out. Something soon breaks down.

So you have to choose.

Most powerlifters train 3–4x per week with high intensity and structured recovery. Runners train more frequently, but keep most sessions low intensity.

It’s the same with life. You can't bring max effort to everything, every day, and expect to thrive. Even with different types of stress, the system still needs space to recover.

#2: Physical and mental stress draw from the same recovery budget

Deep work, creativity, decision-making, planning — these all take energy. The nervous system doesn’t care whether you’re lifting heavy or solving complex problems. Stress is stress.

And when you’re stacking both mental and physical demands without rest, you eventually hit a wall.

Overtraining sneaks up when we layer too much without recalibrating.

That’s the trap I fell into. I’ve been doing a few hours of deep thinking each day, writing daily, managing coaching commitments, and still lifting hard in the gym.

On top of that, I added Padel 3–4 times per week — usually on my “rest days.” It felt fine at first. But now I can feel my body sending a message.

#3: Recovery is an active choice, not a passive state

It's easy to think of recovery as just something that happens. But I’m learning it's something I have to prioritise. If I want to push hard with training, I need to be strategic about everything else I’m doing.

If I want to create daily, coach well, and keep my energy sharp, I can’t also be pushing my physical limits at the same time. Something has to give.

Injury and burnout are warning signals, not weaknesses.

I’ve recently picked up a lower back injury — the first one I’ve had in a while. I can’t bring the same intensity to my lifts. I’ve noticed more fatigue, more effort required just to show up.

This isn’t weakness — it’s feedback. And it’s time I listened.

Final Reflection

Right now, I’m learning to choose my training mode based on the season I’m in.

That doesn’t mean always doing less. It means doing what this season allows. Maybe that looks like lower intensity in the gym, more mobility work, or recovery days when my energy’s already spent. It definitely means saying no to padel some days and actually resting.

I need to accept that I can't push everything hard at once, and that's ok.

There are seasons for intensity and seasons for volume.

Just don't try to do both at once.