Something Overlooked?

For those of you who are (uhmm, slightly older) and may have some type of prevailing injury (which is not exclusive to us old timers) - I believe that some alterations may be in order. Allow me to explain....The die hard high intensity trainee can at times be confused or made to feel "guilty" if they do submaximum effort workouts or multiple sets or perform an exercise that is categorized as - "uncontrolled". I have found through my adventures that higher repetition work is hard and beneficial along with select exercises - allowing me to train consistantly with reduced problematic symptoms - i.e. pain and discomfort. Since my goal is health and overall fitness (and yes I want to look good too so this is in no way shape or form a compromise - my "stats" prove otherwise) I have to make more intelligent choices based on what my goals are therefore not always training to utter failure is part of my plan of action. I follow no schedule of practice but work on how I feel - yes I am an instict type trainee and trainer - I feel that works best for me and the people I train. Although 90% of my workouts revolve around 1 good, hard set of a handful of exercises, I do at times perform submaximal effort multiple sets. This can be done for a general overall workout to induce a good amount of volume that doesn't put me on the floor but does elevate my heart rate and IMO stimulates muscle. Not all work has to be overload to be progressive - meaning sometimes one step back allows for two steps forward.I also believe and practice "other" type exercises that are done for multiple sets as a therapeutic means to achieve my goal - i.e. HEALTH (defined as a strong musculature, cardiovascular system, immune system, mind, spirit, etc.). My point here is that as high intensity "purests" if you will we have to continue to ask ourselves if what we are doing is serving our purpose, our goals that have been established and we must not be guided or guilted or persuaded into making decisions that do not directly help us step closer to our goals. If we do - we compromise ourselves and then defeat our purpose in the long run. - Fred Fornicola