High Performance Is Not the Same as High Output

The Myth of More

I used to (and still sometimes do) think that if I could just do more, then I could become more.

Train more hours.
Lift more days.
Run the extra mile.
Add 1 more surgery to my day.
And… stay awake longer to accomplish it all.

Combat athletes are wired this way. We pride ourselves on intensity. We pride ourselves on being the one who can outwork everyone else in the room. And for a while, that works.

Until it doesn’t.

At some point, something starts talking back. Maybe it is your glute that will not calm down. Maybe it is your shoulder that keeps flaring. Maybe your sleep starts to slip, your mood feels unpredictable, or your body composition shifts even though you are training 4 hours a day.

Then, we tell ourselves we need to do more… but this is the opposite of what our body needs.

Our Body Does Not Differentiate Stress

One of the biggest mistakes high performers make (myself included) is assuming that high output equals high performance. These 2 things are not the same.

Our nervous system does not differentiate stress. It does not care whether the stress comes from competition camp, a difficult surgery, relationship tension, financial pressure, lack of sleep, or our career. It goes into the same bucket.

When that bucket overflows, our body responds. Inflammation rises. Recovery slows. Decision-making worsens. Injuries creep in. And what do we do? We think we need to work harder to overcome it.

Three Pillars of Sustainable Performance

As both an orthopedic surgeon and a jiu jitsu black belt, I see this pattern constantly. The athlete who refuses to deload. The soldier who will not skip a session. The competitor who cannot tolerate training at 50 percent because it feels like falling behind.

Longevity in combat sports is not built on chaos. It is built on rhythm.

There are three levers that matter if you want sustainable performance.

1. Load

Load is training intensity and volume. Not every session should feel like a fight. Some of the most productive training I have ever done has been at 25 to 50 percent intensity (zone 2 training), focusing on precision, timing, learning, and efficiency rather than dominance. Of course, this requires us to rewire the mind and find training partners looking for the same thing. This does not work if your partner is going at maximum effort.

2. Recovery

Recovery is not optional. Sleep is not soft. Fueling is not indulgent. Saying “no” is not the end of the world. Strategic rest is not weakness. It is the price that must be paid for pushing our bodies (and mind) to the limit. 

3. Emotional Bandwidth

This is the one nobody wants to talk about. When our personal life is unstable, our career feels shaky, and our workouts seem impossible. After a bad workout or getting our “ass kicked” at open mat, we feel defeated. We cannot separate the mind and the body as cleanly as my medical school tried to. 

What Too Much High Output Feels Like

Feeling wired but exhausted, strong but inflamed, motivated by fear rather than growth, or guilty when we rest. The last one is the biggest for me. The thought creeping in that I SHOULD be at the gym right now instead of cuddling with my dogs. 

What High Performance Feels Like

High performance feels controlled. It feels deliberate. It feels like you are choosing when to press the gas and when to coast. It feels like confidence. It feels happy, which leads to excellent sleep.

The best black belts I know are not the ones who trained the hardest every single day. They are the ones still training 15 years later without needing 10 medications to get on the mat.

A Simple Task for This Week - Write it Down

Where are you overspending energy?
What session could you intentionally make 30 percent easier?
Are you chasing output, or building longevity?

If you want to compete, operate, lead, and still be healthy at 50, you cannot treat every week like fight camp. Report back and let me know how it feels to incorporate lighter (more educational) training sessions and more recovery (sleep, yoga, ice baths, sauna, etc).

____

Dr. Megan Lisset Jimenez 

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