Lessons on True Progress
by Krista Schaus (posted on NaturalStrength.com March 2001)
It seems like every time you think that you've finally got things together with your training you are hit full force with the realization that you had it all wrong. Again you failed to progress. You have gotten no where in your training. This seems to be a vicious cycle in early learning stages of lifting. You mess up, you try something else out thinking for sure it will do the trick and VOILA you mess up again and go through the process all over. The door to true progress in training opens when you begin to analyze your training. Why are you stuck in this revolving door? What are you doing wrong? How do you correct it? When and how will you get off the training roller coaster?
Are you training "wrong" or are you just plain ignorant. Do you need a kick in the butt or do you simply lack the knowledge. More often than not, you dont know any better? Firstly, you must differentiate between "knowledge" and "information". "Knowledge" is when you know something to be true it has been somehow tested and proven to you to as factual. "Information" is when something is presented to, but you have not yet realized it to be true; it has not been proven. "Information" is just blah, blah, blah. This is important. If you were to value every bit of information as factual simply because some source stated it that would just spell training chaos. Would you perform reps fast or slow, forced reps or no forced? Would you use Bulgarian, Norwegian or Dinosaur training philosophies? Would you cut the carbs or carb up? Eat all red meat or no red meat? Seemass confusion. Each individual must match their personal goals with sound training knowledge from respected, proven sources.
"Wrong" is when you do, in fact, know better. You fail to respect or truly understand the knowledge you have gain. "Wrong" is when you fail to learn from past mistakes. "Wrong" is when you hurt yourself sacrificing good form for adding more weight to the bar, knowing that is a no-no. "Wrong" is continuing to lift with an injury, knowing that you are sabotaging your training and your body by doing so. "Wrong" is when you allow yourself to be sucked in by glossy magazines and go back to wasting your time with mainstream training knowing redundancy will get you know where. Thus, suffer the consequences.
If you fail to learn from your mistakes then you fail to progress and are stuck in an eternal stalemate with your training goals. Without progression, why train? (If you train to get a warm fuzzy feeling, to look good in a pair of jeans or to get out of the house three days a week then you are not "training" and you are definitely not a "lifter" and sure you wont care about progress. But for those who do care about progressing read on.) Each one of you defines success individually and sets your own goals. They key is to continually be working towards your goals. Dont let others set them for you or determine how you should attain them.
Consider the purpose of your training. Your purpose and your goals are not entirely the same thing, although related. To discover your purpose you have to dig deep down and seriously ask yourself why you train and what you want to get out of it as a person. You have to be on a training path for a reason it is a "path" - meant to be followed and to lead you somewhere. On this path you have to follow your heart, but still use your brain. Be intelligently passionate about your training and you will further assist progression.
Understand that everyone makes mistakes. Foolish people continue to make those mistakes. A mistake occurs once. The second time it is your choice a destructive one that only you are responsible for. The sooner you learn to be accountable for mistakes you have made in your training, the sooner you will learn from them. You will always makes mistakes, but you cannot begin to grow until you point the finger at yourself. If you start taking responsibility for your failures, then you will in turn take the time to analyze why you have failed. Then you are truly will be on your way to progress.
Consciously, deep down inside, you know when you have messed up with your training and taken the wrong path you can feel it. Be in tune with your body. The longer you neglect to listen to your gut instinct the more devastating the results will be. Although the consequences may not be immediate, they WILL come. Bad form may not wreak havoc on your body today, but be assured that it will at some point in the future. You cannot continue to lift wrong and not suffer the consequences eventually. Remember - paybacks are a bitch!
Pride will get you no where. We continue to train wrong largely because of pride. Often it is easier to just insist that you are right, than to admit you are wrong. One of the major reasons we hang onto our beliefs, even when wrong, so tightly is because without them we are back at ground zero. To admit our training philosophies may be wrong puts us in a vulnerable state. Our old comfortable habits feel better than starting fresh with something new and foreign. We hate being rookies and often would rather train wrong, feeling at least like we belong. You think, "Hey, everyone else is training wrong too". Right? Its like a support group! Power in numbers. You feel better doing things wrong, even if ridiculous or risky, if masses of others are also. Pride is a hard thing to swallow. To do so and render yourself apparently defenseless is true growth.
You must make yourself vulnerable in order to take on a new challenge. Recall the first time you dead lifted. Uncomfortable? Uncertain? Pretty scary? You likely had absolutely no clue how to do it and probably little confidence that you should even dead lift at all. You dont see too many "wanna-be" body builders pulling weight off the floor on a regular basis do you? And if you do, even less perform them properly. To venture into unknown territory, start over again and ask for help is the ultimate mark of true strength, inner strength that is. With every sign of progress and every mark of improvement, renewed confidence is gained. You achieve a sense of renewal and can go on to face what new challenges await you next workout. For a moment this new training path doesnt seem so scary. It feels good to finally be training properly and progressively getting better.
There is some validity to the old saying, "no pain, no gain". True gains, as a lifter, come from experiencing some pain and encountering some difficulties in your training. The gains will come, but most often after the pain or dealing with conflict. Fear of experiencing some discomfort or reluctance to face your training roadblocks head-on will only ensure that you remain stagnant. Dont deny yourself the opportunity to move forward. Take the pain and make the gains!
Move forward slowly, safely and diligently. Do so only when you are ready, physically and mentally. Your body will let you know when you are ready to progress. Our bodies have an incredible innate ability to warn us when we cannot handle either emotional or physical pain. Moving forward when you are not ready will sabotage your progress immensely. It will be like taking two steps forward and one steps back. Your body will keep you where it needs to be one way or the other. Listen to it; your body is rarely wrong.
For the ladies specifically, dont be afraid to defy stereotypes. If you, as a as women, are more concerned about your hair, nails, getting calluses, bruises, scrapes, sore muscles or looking silly doing a squat then you should not even pretend you deserve to take up space in a gym. If you, as a female, consider your training goals secondary to the possibility of gaining a few pounds or getting "man" muscles then we may as well go back to the days when women were to be seen and not hear and child bearing was our primary function. Lifting is NOT for men only! I repeat, women can get relatively as strong as men and still look like women. If you do chose to get into lifting your body will only benefit, if done properly.
Yes, life can be like a roller coaster, but lifting is not meant to be. Progress is when you no longer have to wonder if you are progressing. You dont have to measure, weight, register or test your progress. It is plain as day. There is no more uncertainty about your training method of choice because in your mind there will be only one. The ultimate feeling is when you finally start feeling comfortable with training the way it is meant to be hard, consistent and simple.
When lifting becomes about who you are, not just what you do, that is when you will know you truly do have it all figured out. When you can think back fondly on past training sessions like you would a first date, that is when you know you are doing things right. Wrap your hands around the bar and stare it down with all its weight. Look around you, take a deep breath and ponder how you feel at that moment. When it feels like you are home, that it when you really do have it all together. That, my friends, is true progress.
DE Coaching Team
Krista Schaus PICP CPT
Ontario CANADA
krista@definingedge.ca
Kate Kline PICP CFT
Arizona USA
kate@definingedge.ca
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