The 80% rule I am talking about is NOT the one associated with trying to find a woman/man that fits 20% of your needs at the expense of sacrificing your current woman/man who is already meeting 80% of your needs. The one I am talking about is the rule that is the basis of long term programming for athletes so that they can peak at a specific point i.e. competition.
The basis of the 80% rule is that an athlete will train 80% of the time at 80% effort. The last 20% will be in the moments leading up to a single day or event at which the athlete will be able to perform at 100%.
The problem with most that do not have direction or programming, they attempt to either work at 100% effort all the time or are not consistent with the % for which they are working. The goal is to maintain 80% of volume and effort over the course of pre-competition training so that the athlete can maximize on the volume, consistency, and technique without exhausting the nervous/adrenal systems and getting injured. For instance, if I am working at 100% effort 5 days out of the week, I am most likely degrading my ability to fully recover and/or even be able to sustain that effort thus allowing the athlete to have to take more rest days or half-ass performances. Its the same concept as pacing. An athlete that is consistent over a long period of time will have generated more volume, consistency and decreased injury if they operate the majority of the their pre-competition training at 80%.
One week or so before the competition they can move to 90% effort for their work effort with decreased volume and then they ultimately can be prepared to do 100% on game day. This is what is called peaking.
