Progress Might Look Like Failure
Progress in one area might look like failure in another… but ask yourself 2 things:
1. What is my goal?
2. What am I focused on? (the positive or the negative)
GEEEEZ, sometimes it can seem like you have to give up on one thing to get another… as soon as you are feeling strong and you decide to trim down… weight you used to be able to do for 10 reps easy is now barely getting a 4-6 set out of … not to mention it feels so much heavier (mental game is back)..
.. or maybe you have trimmed down and you started to lift a little heavier… thinking “yeah, now I am going to build some muscle and not only feel good, but look lean too”…. and then just a few weeks or month later feeling like that maybe you are putting on muscle, but really you just feel like you are putting on fat again…
… or maybe you really wanted to start a routine.. thinking “this is my year.. I am going to lose weight, get healthy, and finally feel great.. so you start.. (YES!!!.. great job!).. but then you find yourself 1 month in feeling like you are putting in all this work, time, energy, and effort…. and going NO WHERE…making you feel like you are wasting your time and more..
Progress is not always clear… sometimes you gotta look for it… sometimes you have to focus on and evaluate what outcome you are going for…
When you want to get leaner, naturally you lose some strength…. “but isn’t that what you wanted”… asking myself (lol)..
When you want to put on muscle you can’t be afraid of gaining a little extra water weight and maybe even a few pounds that aren’t straight muscle.. (don’t get carried away here… it’s easy to say.. “I’m bulking” … again.. guilty)….
And when you are first getting started on your journey to a new happier & healthier you, you are going to have linear physical changes.. many times it’s going to look very different.. but you will see you are starting to see the changes that lead to physical changes… things like.. increased energy, feeling better/healthier, and even losing inches.. (the scale isn’t the only tool to use for measuring improvement)
What is my goal? …. What am I focused on?
If you remind yourself of your goal… and see all the positive changes that are happening, I promise it will be worth it… (sometimes we have to let go of an old identity or way of thinking to see the positive things… but more on that another time) …
You will see progress when you stick to it… if you don’t like the progress you are seeing.. change your goal..
How to ensure you see consistent progress:
– Review your goal daily
– Review the daily work you did to reach that goal
– Remind yourself WHY you set the goal
– Use multiple ways to measure your progress (not just the scale, or not just strength, etc)
Get out there and make it happen!
If you need help, I’m here.
– Michael