I love training, but a big problem I have is that I often bite off more than I can chew. This can leave me completely exhausted physically and or mentally. That's when I make my Deal With The Devil.
The first example of a deal is with my conditioning. I don't like conditioning. It's crazy to me that there are some people out there who like ultra-marathons. I think it's some type of mental illness, but I digress.
I have three easier one-hour zone 2 sessions a week for conditioning. I never miss those. I am more or less ambivalent about them. It's the hard sessions I HATE! I have three: assault bike sprints, 4-400 meter repeats, and a 7-minute uphill ruck.
Unfortunately, I have not been consistent with my hard conditioning. I probably had more weeks where I would only hit one session or even none more often than completing all three.
In comes the Deal With The Devil. I told myself I no longer had to aim for three hard conditioning sessions per week. I only had to do two out of three. Since making this deal which I guess makes me the devil, I have not missed getting the two hard sessions in a week. I have even gotten three a few times.
Scenario two is weight training. Unlike conditioning, I LOVE lifting! I'd do it for hours on top of hours. The problem is I can't recover. So I temper my weight training while slowly peppering additional volume and or intensity. As cautious as I may be, I can still feel trashed on any given day.
The deal here is to err on the side of caution when I'm feeling subpar. I cut rep PRs and Joker sets minimizing intensity. I also cut out any assistance. It's a bare-bones lifting day where I only complete the minimum rx for my volume based on Wendler's take on Prilepin - Dizenzo's 5/3/1 Mashup
Where I'd struggle with what seems like taking the easy way out, I have learned it is not my nature. These deals help keep me more consistent than anything and consistency is King! If you struggle with certain parts of your program try making deals with yourself.