The Science of Auto-Regulation
Imagine driving a car to a destination 500 miles away.
- Linear Periodization (Old School): You decide before you leave: "I will drive exactly 60mph for 8 hours, no matter what." If there's traffic, you crash. If the road is clear, you arrive late because you could have gone faster.
- Auto-Regulation (Modern Science): You check the road conditions. "It's raining, I'll slow down to 40mph." "It's clear, I'll speed up to 75mph." You arrive safely and often faster.
Your body is the road. Some days it rains (stress, poor sleep). Some days it's clear (perfect nutrition, great energy).
Auto-Regulation is simply the art of adjusting your training today based on how your body is performing today.
Why Spreadsheets Fail
Rigid spreadsheets assume your strength increases in a perfectly straight line. Biology doesn't work that way.
| Approach | The Method | The Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Linear Periodization | Add 5lbs every week. Forever. | Eventually, you can't add 5lbs. You stall, get injured, or burn out. |
| Percentage Based | Lift 80% of your 1RM. | Your 1RM fluctuates. 80% on a 'bad day' might feel like 100%. |
| Auto-Regulated | Lift a weight that feels like an 8/10 difficulty. | Self-correcting. On bad days, you lift less. On good days, you lift MORE. |
The Tools of Auto-Regulation
How do we measure "how you feel" scientifically?
1. RPE (Rating of Perceived Exertion)
A 1-10 scale of difficulty.
- @10: Max effort. Could not do another rep.
- @9: Could do 1 more rep.
- @8: Could do 2 more reps.
- @7: Could do 3 more reps.
How to use it: instead of "Squat 300lbs", your program says "Squat 3 sets of 5 @ RPE 8".
- On a great day, that might be 315lbs.
- On a bad day, that might be 285lbs.
- Both provide the correct stimulus for that day.
2. RIR (Reps In Reserve)
Similar to RPE, but counts backwards from failure.
- 0 RIR: Failure.
- 2 RIR: 2 reps left in the tank.
3. Velocity (Bar Speed)
Technology (like accelerometers or AI vision) measures how fast the bar moves.
- If your "warmup" moves at 0.5 m/s vs your usual 0.8 m/s, your nervous system is fatigued. The AI lowers your weight automatically. This is how Bion works.
How to Auto-Regulate (Without an App)
- Warm up gradually. Don't just jump to your working weight. Feel the bar speed.
- Rate your readiness. Ask: "On a scale of 1-10, how much energy do I have?"
- 1-3: Reduce volume by 50%. Just move.
- 4-7: Standard training day.
- 8-10: Go for a PR or add extra volume.
- Be honest. Auto-regulation isn't an excuse to be lazy. It's permission to be smart.
How Bion Automates This
Most people are bad at judging their own fatigue. Bion removes the guesswork:
- Readiness Score: We analyze your sleep, HRV, and recent workload to give you a daily score.
- Dynamic Targets: If you're crushing it, Bion suggests adding weight mid-workout. If you're struggling, it suggests a back-off set.
- Long-Term Trend: We track your Estimated 1RM (e1RM). If it's trending down, we suggest a deload week—automatically.
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