Volume: Put It Where It Counts

We often think training is a simple rule of doing more = more results. But when we look at elite athletes, that rule falls apart.

The athletes that make the most progress know that not everything is a priority. They know they have to optimize for rest. Always training hard at everything does one thing: it makes you slightly worse every time.

A year ago, when I tried to combine running with lifting, I ran into this problem myself. I stagnated in the gym.

My fix was adding more volume. More sets. More exercises. More everything. It didn’t work.

I pushed myself into overtraining and needed weeks to recover. That’s when I knew something had to change.

I started using the P.R.O. framework, and that’s when my progress returned. It helped me design my training with intention instead of hope. Here’s how it works:

P — Priority Work

This is what truly moves the needle.
For me, that meant getting stronger in the big compound lifts while improving my running. So I built my sessions around heavy 5×5 work — the lifts that actually drive adaptation.

R — Required Work

The supporting exercises that make the priority possible.
Free-weight rowing, pressing, lunging, pulling — movements that build the back, chest, shoulders, and legs so the big lifts (and my running) could keep progressing. For arms, a few targeted isolation sets at the end.

O — Optional Work

Everything that’s nice to have, but not essential.
The classic bodybuilding movements: flyes, pulldowns, pump work. I still do them — but only when I have the time and energy after the important work is done.

Knowing where to place your volume makes programming simple. It gives your training a direction instead of a hope.

The PRO framework brought back my progress and it might do the same for you.

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