There’s been much written about the benefits of “living without limits,” or “unlimited thinking.”

Yet, as with a coin, there are always at least two sides to the story.

If you engage in a certain activity that requires great physical exertion, but you don’t set limits on how often you engage, and for how long, and at what level of intensity, you run the risk of doing great damage to yourself.

Football players, traditionally, play in a real game once a week. Game day is followed by one or more rest days, and practices are then organized at different levels of intensity to get the players ready for the next match up.

If football games were played almost every day, such as we see in baseball, the lack of limitations would lead to breakdowns at an unprecedented level.

In professional boxing, fighters often take months off in between fights, and with good reason. Fighting every day, as well as sparring too much, would lend itself to a shortened career with a lot of brain damage.

This is one of the reasons that shadow-boxing or form practice is an incredibly important part of combat training. You can kid yourself into thinking that all your daily training should be fighting or sparring, but this mentality will lead to a destroyed body in record time.

Last night I spoke with a man who keeps injuring himself when he’s playing pickle ball. He has no off-switch. Once he starts he cannot stop himself from playing “just one more game.”

He admitted that when he is at a facility that has time limits, such as two hours, he never gets injured. But in an “open court” setting, he will play three, four, even five hours straight.

Dumb idea, but understandable as many people continually make this mistake and never learn that it’s the wrong approach.

A better approach is to give yourself minimums and allow yourself to exceed them, within reason, but pay attention to where the dangers are, and once you’re aware of them, back off, even if your mind is telling you to keep going.

After you’ve put in your time, regardless of whether you want to continue or not, stop, pack your bags and relax. Doing so will get you mentally ready for the next training session.

Driving yourself to the brink once in a while is fine, as a test to see what you can do when pushed. But all the time? In every workout? That’s foolish and it isn’t gold.

Do I ever push myself beyond what I think I am capable of?

Sure, but I limit myself in regard to how often I do so.

Years ago, I was taught that your brain and nervous system will remember and have access to your toughest workout for 14 days after it ended.

I thought this was poppycock when I first heard it, but when I tested it out, I found that it was true.

To me, it’s not so much a question about over-training or under-training. It’s about being smart enough to give yourself limits that lead to you exceeding your previous best.

Stand back and observe. Look at your results. If you’re getting stronger, increasing your endurance, getting faster and more flexible from doing less, then stop doing more.

Abandon the notion that more effort is always the answer.

Sometimes it is.

Much of the time it clearly isn’t.

Here endeth the lesson.

Matt Furey