
There comes a time in your training where the honeymoon period of weigthtlifting is over, where putting weight on the bar becomes harder, and where your drive to carry your progress forward is put to the test. This point also determines, frankly speaking, whether you continue to train for strength or not.
You have made steady progress in your first 9-12 months of training - at least doubling or trippling your numbers on the bar. All of a sudden you realise '....this is getting hard....this must be it now, right? I'm just going to have to maintain what I have.'
No. Not so fast.
Take a closer look at your current numbers. How much are you squatting? If you don' t have your own bodyweight on the bar, then by all means, we cannot say you're the finished product.
How much are you deadlifting? Have you worked up to a 1.5x bodyweight deadlift in your first year of training? Or are you struggling to get past your own bodyweight on the bar?
Your perception is that you have reached your limit. Sorry - a below-bodyweight deadlift after a year of training is not strength training. It's called 'doing weights'. And there is a fundamental difference between the two: one is about achieving greater levels of adaptation and physical functioning over prolonged periods of time. The other is breaking a sweat, and going through the motions.
We have figured out by now that the point of strength training is not just to build up our physical capacities to handle life better. It is also a highly powerful tool to build up our mental capacities to become a full-fledged human being. That is, investing time and energy into a process, figuring out solutions to given problems along the way, and taking action to ensure continuous progress. Not for one session, not for two weeks, not for three months - but for many years to come.
I tell you why this is crucial.
Once we see a decline or cessation in our progress, we run the risk of stopping what we are doing. This applies to any skill or practice we learn. If we do not experience tangible progress over a prolonged period of time, we lose interest, and eventually, we quit.
Who would want that?
Progress is essential for our psyche and wellbeing. Humans naturally strive to become something more or better in every day of their life.
Why would this be any different in the world of strength training?
If I tell you that by next year, you are going to lift the same weight, move the same way, have gained zero muscle mass, and have learned nothing new about your ability to lift - how would you feel?
The answer seems obvious - but as we know, things are not always as they seem, and not everything is obvious to everyone.
Here is a message for you:
Stay on track. Train regularly. Feed your recovery. Keep building muscle. And keep pushing your numbers up on the bar.
Psychologically, this is the way forward. Because as humans, we crave progress. No progress means stagnation. And stagnation, to the every end, means death.
The end product is not a finishing line.
Have you figured out what it is?
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