Exploring the Categories of Training: What is Capacity?
And how much do you need?
A few weeks ago I introduced the idea of the 4 categories of training (Capacity, Strength, Flexibility, and Exploration) as buckets into which to divide training time, and guideposts we can use to direct training goals and interests.
This week I’d like to continue that discussion by beginning to dig into each of the categories of training to understand them a bit better. We’ll start with Capacity, since in many ways it is the foundation of all the subsequent categories.
Capacity
Capacity is the gradual exposure of the body to stress with the intention of increasing the ability to handle more stress (physical, mental, and emotional). It is the ability to do more: in exercise this can be more weight, reps, distance, or time, but it can also be running or walking a bit farther, standing for a little longer, or doing more yard work.
To use a housing analogy: all houses require some sort of foundation to anchor them, but the architecture and design of the house are made to weather the environment and fit the needs and preferences of the inhabitants. Training is much the same: capacity is the foundational ability upon which we develop the rest of our skills and training. Simply put, capacity is the development of the body’s ability to do more stuff.
We quantify capacity through the training principle of volume: the measurement of how much is done in an exercise session. This is primarily done through the measurements of sets, reps, time, distance, and weight, but those are not the only ways to track volume. Some use the intersection of sets, reps, and weight for a total weight lifted in a session (sometimes called tonnage), or total mileage or time done in a workout. In fact, the weekly recommended physical activity guidelines are written in a total time form of volume measurement at 150 minutes per week.
Why is all of this important?
If our goal is to increase the amount of stuff we can do, then we need to know how much we can do now, and slightly increase that over time so that our body can adapt and get stronger (in exercise this is called progressive overload). Measuring volume and increasing volume is an easy, clear way to track progress from A to B.
An increase in volume often goes hand-in-hand with an increase in intensity, though there is not a direct correlation between the two—in fact, in some ways intensity operates on an inverse ratio to volume: the higher the intensity of an activity, the lower the volume that the body can handle.
That seems like I contradicted myself, I know. But let me clarify through a running analogy: if I run 100 meters as fast as I can, I’ll run at a much faster pace than if I was running 10 miles. Why? Because it’s a much shorter distance I’m able to expend a lot more energy—the intensity is much higher. It doesn’t mean the 10 miles is easy, but the relative intensity is much lower.
When increasing our volume, we will slightly increase the intensity of what we are doing. In this case, using words like difficulty or fatigue might be more appropriate than intensity, but they all speak to the increased challenge of upping volume.
At the core of all intentional exercise is going slightly beyond our current capabilities to induce physiological adaptations so that in the future we can do more, whether it be more volume (capacity(, more intensity (strength), or more range (specifically joint range of motion when speaking about flexibility).
So how much Capacity do you need?
This might be a disappointing answer, but it depends: what are you trying to do? An ultra marathoner is going to have different capacity needs than a 90 year old grandparent. There are a lot of arbitrary recommendations and guidelines in health and fitness, and even more pressure to fulfill unrealistic standards set by social media influencers and fitness professionals, mostly based on their personal biases and desire to sell products or training.
There’s also the construct of capital H “Health” and the pressure it puts on people to be inhumanly healthy and capable at all times. The truth is that what we are able to do (physically, mentally, emotionally) is going to change throughout our lives, and putting pressure on ourselves to either fulfill some external standard—or some past version of ourselves—will ultimately get in the way of finding a fulfilling version of health and/or fitness.
But if your goal is to improve your capacity as described in this article, I recommend finding some form of benchmark that is relevant to you, determine the distance (physical or metaphorical) between your current capacity and that goal, and establishing a plan to incrementally increase your capacity toward that end. Meet yourself where you are, have a general (or specific) idea of where you want to go, and make the steps in between as small as they need to be.