Life Lessons from the Gym #2 - Progress Isn't Linear
Training isn’t just about looking or feeling better. At the time I’m writing this, I’ve been in the gym consistently for 15 years and coaching for 8. That’s about half my life in the gym. The gym has taught me more about life than any class or course.
I’m going to start sharing some of these lessons learned in blog posts over the next several months. I thought about doing three in one post but as I’ve been writing I think I need more space to fully articulate what I’ve been thinking. So I’m going to do just one lesson per post. Hopefully this will resonate with someone out there.
Lesson #2 - Progress isn’t linear
In the gym, we get bigger/stronger/faster/leaner by using a principle called “progressive overload.” This just means that we gradually overload the body, coaxing it into adapting to greater and greater demands. We can use a wide variety of methods to accomplish this; we can add weight, add reps, add sets, shorten rest periods, use exercise variations, increase the pace….you get the idea.
Often, I meet with clients who tell me they’ve “stalled out” on whatever plan they’ve been using and they’re looking for a solution. What being “stalled out” means varies from individual to individual, but most just aren’t seeing the progress they expected as fast as they expected it. This leads to a lot of frustration, lack of focus, and even giving up on the goal altogether.
All these things are normal human experiences. We’re pretty bad judges of how long things take and bad decision-makers regarding next steps.
A lot of this frustration can be avoided with a different mindset. Progress is not an overnight phenomenon, but it’s also not a slow and steady grind either. If you’ve been consistently in the gym for 5-10 years, you know what I’m talking about. Priorities change, life happens, and you can go years without making progress.
The more advanced and well-trained you are, the more this is true. When you first start in the gym, virtually anything you do will bring some improvement. The more you train, the more targeted and nuanced your training must become. You’ll go years without improvements in certain lifts. Your race times will stagnate. Your bodyfat will stop dropping, or you’ll find it harder and harder to put on muscle. You’ll even regress or get injured and have to fight to re-build what you spent years building.
This is normal. It’s how the body works. Don’t fight it, embrace it.
Progress through life isn’t linear either. Most of the time, the “ladder to success” isn’t a thing. You’ll start school only to end up graduating with a completely different degree and direction in life than you thought (trust me I know). You or a family member may get sick and require massive financial resources that have taken years to accumulate. Your first home might burn down. Your business might fail. And fail again. You might get laid off and be unable to find comparable work, forcing you to be underemployed.
These types of events should be expected. You won’t get through life unscathed. Rather than fighting it, embrace it. Chase your goals, but expect the unexpected and don’t be afraid to change directions or keep pushing forward when it doesn’t seem like it’s going anywhere.
Sometimes it’s ok to feel stuck, or to even feel like you’ve regressed. That may be the push you need to seek out new directions and opinions, like the “stalled out” clients I meet. Sometimes it’s just the push you need.
If you’re looking for a fitness trainer in the Mt Juliet/Hermitage/Nashville TN area, online fitness training, or just need some advice to get your fitness program started, contact me
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