'Training on the Edge' will mean different things to different people. Even within Weightlessness Training, this phrase will have different implications if one is working through the foundations of W a la the Weightlessness Spectrum, or if they’re doing advanced Weightlessness practices via Lightness Training Protocols.

If one is still cultivating the foundational pillars of strength, flexibility, and meditation, training on the edge might mean pushing boundaries of comfort, and potentially, safety. It can often mean pushing to points of local or systemic failure to elicit deep adaptations and accelerate growth.

But as one progresses, one should also mature in their approach - from volume based work to minimal sufficient dosages, from grit to sensitivity, and from the outside in.

In Lightness, the focus goes from training to living.

This is a critical mindset shift, and it can be used daily to inform how you approach training itself. If pushing to failure today means I can’t perform well for the next three due to excess soreness or fatigue, then I shot myself in the foot. While one should seek progressive gains in the gym, after foundations are set, one should be sensitive to those training efforts that detract from quality of life (the other 23 hours) vs enhance them.

In Lightness Training protocols, the core of which is to simulate living in a heavier body in order to design sensations of lightness, heightened sensitivity and awareness, and improved neuromuscular coordination, the mantra is often “train to fatigue, not failure.”

Training to fatigue means that your momentary effort is concluded when you’ve got one rep left in the tank. This leaves the mind and body relatively fresh, and capable of resourcing greater sensitivity and awareness under pressure / stress.

So, if “training on the edge” in this approach doesn’t imply pushing to failure and / or taking potential risks to extract gains as quickly as possible… what does it mean?

It means one should simulate psychological stress to elicit the fear response, and then strictly adhere to efforts that integrate attention, breathwork, and ballistic effort.

In leaping, for example, two primary variables are the height of the jump (box height or hole depth) and weight added (to torso or ankles). When one of these variables changes it likely impacts the other. The more weight one adds, the lower their max height in leaping.

The key is to find balance that both allows for the application of abdominal breathing, relaxation, and explosive effort without generating excess tension or reducing mindful awareness, while at the same time choosing a weight / height combination that elicits insecurity or fear in the latter reps of your leaping efforts (generally performed in one paced-out set).

This is training on the edge within Lightness Training.

Once that element of uncertainty or fear is introduced, the real work begins.

The tendency is for your system to drift toward tension and insensitivity, prioritizing outcome over process. The same psychoemotional response happens whenever we face conflict in daily life, with similar reduction in awareness and an increase in tension.

Training at this edge simulates the moment of triggering in daily life, and strict adherence to lightness principles within these efforts is what generates transference of skill and mind-body integration under pressure - the ability to act with presence, compassion, and deep personal alignment, rather than a reactive, fear based response.

Don't be afraid to test your edges, for there is no other way to gain greater control over your mind-body during the stuff of life. And when you're ready, test those edges with your higher mind, a steady, clear gaze, a relaxed, deep breath, and alignment with your deepest values.

Be weightless!

Tom Fazio

Nutrition, strength, flexibility, meditation, and yes, the principles and practices of deep integration that empower you to design, not just happen upon, weightless moments in life - the work we do in The Weightlessness Process.

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