Trusting the Process
Anyone who has been lifting for a significant portion of their lives knows all too well of the temptation to switch programs prematurely. It always seems that just as we invest time and maybe even money into arriving at a course of action, new information comes to light that can derail your plan. Let’s explore this dynamic further.
Hedging Bets
Perhaps you’ve heard of a hedge fund or the term hedging one’s bets. Essentially both are a strategy against failure by not placing one’s eggs in one basket. The advantage of this approach is that you are far less likely to lose the money you invested.
This makes sense in terms of finances, but not in the gym. Typically when we enter the world of fitness, we seek to make improvements, build, and better ourselves. We are not typically looking to preserve our baseline state.
One of the principles of training that any personal trainer learns during their certification is the idea of training specificity. Training needs to be specific to that which we are trying to improve. If you aim to build strength, it is more efficient to follow a strength program. If you want to build muscle mass, it makes sense to follow a hypertrophy program.
Thus, we have the concept of training periodisation, where specific training blocks are typically implemented to allow a trainee to experience various types of training as the goalposts shift.
This allows the trainee to maximise their improvements in one area before focusing elsewhere.
Whether it be the fear of failure or success, remember that hedging your bets is somewhat rooted in fear. I’d argue this is a healthy fear regarding one's financial health. But when making progress in the gym, we must be specific with our investments and see the process through before looking elsewhere.
All Skills Require Practice
Lifting for strength is a skill. Developing the mind-muscle connection required for hypertrophy is a skill. Dieting is a skill. Intentionally overeating consistently is a skill.
All skills require time, patience and repetition to perfect. I recently heard a fantastic quote that goes to the effect:
” An amateur stops when they get it right. A pro stops when they can’t get it wrong”.
To hone your craft and dial in all aspects of your current training plan, getting to 100% adherence will not happen overnight. Generally, when entering a new training or dieting block, I aim to nail the most important 75% of the plan in one go, then incrementally work towards perfecting the missing 25%, 5% at a time.
If you continually jump between programs, you avoid the 100% commitment that is only built with time and focus at a time.
Finding What Works For You
Another principle of training is that of Individuality. That which works for one person may not work for another, and vice versa. However, before deciding whether a particular training style works or doesn’t work for you, you must spend enough time at it while tracking the results.
For example, after years of training, I discovered that strength training is an inefficient way for me to train. Anytime I embark on a strength training protocol, my progress seems to stall just four weeks in, while simultaneously feeling like I’ve been hit by a train between sessions.
Alternatively, when training for volume, I could easily spend 90 minutes taking my muscles to complete failure and feel absolutely fine in between sessions.
I would have never come to this distinct conclusion had I not tried multiple variations of both strength and hypertrophy programs, and seeing them through to completion.
Catch it When it Happens
To not fall into this trap of switching between programs, it is important to do two things:
Invest time upfront in planning your next training block.
Once that time has been invested, refrain from or limit the consumption of fitness content, which could convince you to abandon your plan.
Once the initial time has been invested in planning your training block, you can be confident that you’ve covered your bases and have a solid list of reasons for embarking on this plan, with tangible goals.
Point number 2 is equally important because that which we consciously focus on, we tend to seek out, even when we are not trying to do so. If you continually search for information contrary to your plan, your subconscious mind will ensure you focus more heavily on the information supporting a switch to a new program. it will feel as if the universe is prompting you to focus elsewhere when your brain is responding to the narrative of failure you’ve already constructed.
My Approach
After recognising that I had commitment issues with training programs, I decided to focus on all the things I love about each training and dieting phase and give myself completely to those benefits.
For example, I enjoy having a full tank of energy when bulking, allowing me to progress consistently on my lifts.
When cutting, I like to focus on how efficiently I can complete my workouts and work on my discipline through strict meal times and food choices for a few weeks, interspersed with re-feeds.
Being present with the process of each phase, this journey cannot be overstated because the journey is all we have. The results are, to a certain extent, our of our hands.