A quick thank you to Coach Kat at Optimum Performance Training for her blog post below that discusses the concept of minimum effective dose with respect to strength training. Coach Kat is currently running Learn to Lift group training sessions for LYNX. Details about strength training can be found here.
Kat Elvidge, MAHN, BSc, Coach Optimum Performance Training Inc.
“The minimum effective dose (MED) refers to the smallest amount of input required to produce a desired adaptation. In our case, that input is training, the dose is volume and intensity, and the desired result is usually improving fitness.
Often, athletes believe that more volume = higher fitness. But counterintuitively, increasing volume and intensity can overwhelm your body, leading to burnout or injury.
Workouts stress your body beyond its current capacity, and through recovery, it can become stronger. Crucially, each training session needs to be just enough to stimulate a response, but not too much that you can’t train more in the coming days and weeks. Train too little, and you won’t improve; train too much, and you’ll outpace your ability to recover and need time off.
Your minimum effective dose will vary from athlete to athlete. Your age, training experience, lifestyle, and genetics can all impact your MED.
The first two in that list generally follow a clear pattern. Younger and/or experienced individuals often need a higher MED, whereas older and/or newer athletes often require a lower MED.
But it’s the other two, lifestyle and genetics, that tend to play the greatest role in determining your MED. Lifestyle factors such as demanding jobs, poor sleep and eating patterns, and high life stress can make it harder to sustain a high training volume. Some of these things can be worked on, but sometimes they are simply unavoidable, and your training should reflect that. Similarly, some athletes recover and adapt faster due to genetic predispositions, meaning their MED may naturally be higher, while others might require less stimulus for similar results.
How do you know if you’re training at the right dose?
Look for consistent performance improvements, minimal soreness, and good recovery between sessions. It’s important to be honest with yourself here. Athletes often run into the comparison trap — you think you should train just as much as your favourite athlete on the internet, even though you feel terrible.
Training beyond your MED can lead you to diminishing returns, excessive fatigue, and injury. These all interfere with your long-term progress. By incorporating the concept of minimum effective dose in your training, you can find a healthy balance and ensure consistent improvement over the long term.”