I first heard the term, minimum effective dose, in early 2011 when I picked up a copy of The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss..
What is it?
Ferriss defines it as "the smallest dose that is needed to produce a desired outcome".
Whether you are looking to get stronger, leaner, or faster, you need to look at what you are doing in terms of hormonal response.
If a high-intensity interval workout only lasts 10 minutes, but it accomplishes the desired hormonal release to stimulate fat loss, then why do more?
If a strength workout consisting of dead-lifts, overhead presses, and pull-ups lasts 25 minutes, but provides the hormonal response needed for strength gains, then why do more?
More often than not, we think of exercise in terms of length, rather than the desired outcome.
If I workout for 60 minutes, rather than 30 minutes, then clearly I am going to benefit more.
Actually, no.
If you try to push past the desired hormonal response for most workouts, then you will end up over-training over the long term, and this will cause a hormonal response that will not give you the desired outcome.
If the body is in an over-trained state for a long enough period, then the body releases too much cortisol (stress hormone) and this causes fatigue and fat tissue retention.
I only need to look back at my time in track and bobsleigh to understand the concept of minimum effective dose.
For example, a workout may have only consisted of three or four maximum speed sprints for 50 metres, but there was no need to do more.
If you tried to add more sprints, you would only make yourself slower.
Also, it would take you longer to recover fully from the workout.
This concept applies to all other types of physical training.
Do just enough and you will see progress.
Do too much and you will go backwards.
But how do you know if you are working hard enough to stimulate the desired hormonal response?
It comes down to training experience and knowing your body.
You want to push yourself, but you do not want to over-train.
A basic guideline I would recommend would be to do three higher intensity workouts per week.
For example, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each workout (including a 5-10 minute warm-up) would last no more than 40 minutes.
On days between, and weekends, you would rest and do lower intensity activities like walking, foam rolling, and stretching.
Do this for 6 weeks and see how you progress.
The key is to listen to your body and give yourself adequate recovery between workouts.
Allow your hormones to do what you want them to do.
What is it?
Ferriss defines it as "the smallest dose that is needed to produce a desired outcome".
Whether you are looking to get stronger, leaner, or faster, you need to look at what you are doing in terms of hormonal response.
If a high-intensity interval workout only lasts 10 minutes, but it accomplishes the desired hormonal release to stimulate fat loss, then why do more?
If a strength workout consisting of dead-lifts, overhead presses, and pull-ups lasts 25 minutes, but provides the hormonal response needed for strength gains, then why do more?
More often than not, we think of exercise in terms of length, rather than the desired outcome.
If I workout for 60 minutes, rather than 30 minutes, then clearly I am going to benefit more.
Actually, no.
If you try to push past the desired hormonal response for most workouts, then you will end up over-training over the long term, and this will cause a hormonal response that will not give you the desired outcome.
If the body is in an over-trained state for a long enough period, then the body releases too much cortisol (stress hormone) and this causes fatigue and fat tissue retention.
I only need to look back at my time in track and bobsleigh to understand the concept of minimum effective dose.
For example, a workout may have only consisted of three or four maximum speed sprints for 50 metres, but there was no need to do more.
If you tried to add more sprints, you would only make yourself slower.
Also, it would take you longer to recover fully from the workout.
This concept applies to all other types of physical training.
Do just enough and you will see progress.
Do too much and you will go backwards.
But how do you know if you are working hard enough to stimulate the desired hormonal response?
It comes down to training experience and knowing your body.
You want to push yourself, but you do not want to over-train.
A basic guideline I would recommend would be to do three higher intensity workouts per week.
For example, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each workout (including a 5-10 minute warm-up) would last no more than 40 minutes.
On days between, and weekends, you would rest and do lower intensity activities like walking, foam rolling, and stretching.
Do this for 6 weeks and see how you progress.
The key is to listen to your body and give yourself adequate recovery between workouts.
Allow your hormones to do what you want them to do.