My last post here was all about evaluating the effort one puts into their training... basically, if you don't value reaching optimal fitness, you shouldn't feel guilty about not putting the time and energy into your training that optimizing your fitness would require (though you don't get to complain about any perceived lack of progress, either!). Just keep yourself healthy and mobile and you're good to go. The beauty of biomechanically sound, functional movment and good nutrition is that, even if you're not pushing yourself to your personal limits, they're still the most effective way to build your fitness.
But, let's say you are reaching higher... most folks who take on our kind of training program do catch the "how fit/strong/fast can I get?" bug after a while, that is if they don't walk into the gym for their first session already having a feverish case of it.
For us, however we're motivated, the milestones of PRs feel awesome, and we're always trying to outdo what we've done before. And, in the beginning, this is actually pretty easy to do (though you'll only know that looking backwards; in the moment, as it were, it's still hard work!)... as you teach your body how to move, and build coordination and timing, and build strength by ennervating your existing muscle tissue, PRs come fast and furiously. This is a great time (though filled with frustrations, too... really figuring out something as complex as the snatch is a lot of work, let's be real here). But, sadly, it doesn't last forever.
This is where patience comes in... if you want to maximize your fitness, it's vital to be resolved, it's vital to develop and practice the mental aspects of training such as drive and the understanding that training is a process. But, you can do all of these things and still get stuck. Still plateau. Still feel like you're not moving forward, or worse, moving backward. I mean, crappy days in the gym are one thing... but, what about when you haven't hit a big PR in your deadlift in weeks? Or even months?
At some point, you're working for smaller rewards. Eventually, adding just 5 pounds, or even 1 pound, to a lift is an accomplishment. Shaving just a few seconds off your time in a workout takes weeks or months of training and slow but steady improvement. Also, of course, we must consider that some folks are more naturally inclined to learn a new physical task in one domain than they are another... I've seen folks who struggle to learn the timing and coordination of an Olympic lift pick up Double Unders without any problem.
Before our gains start to come in inevitably smaller increments, even, there are factors not directly related to what we're doing in the gym which have significant impact. Food, of course, is huge; if you're not eating to support your training you're carving out a very, very difficult and frustrating road for yourself, especially if you're passionate about improving your performance. Rest is another biggie; as important as food, almost (some might say more)... our bodies do the vast majority of the repair work induced by exercise while we sleep. Beyond these, persistent stress level is probably the biggest factor, and so much can influence this; caffeine intake (arguably part of the food issue), difficulties at home or at work, money troubles... even good things, like getting a new job, or buying a new home and moving house, can carry a sufficiently high stress load to interfere with your training. When you're thinking about all the things you have to get done (switching utilities, arranging for movers, etc) to move house, or focused on making a good impression on the new boss and really hitting it hard at work, physically speaking these high levels of excitement have similar impacts on your body as negative sources of stress do, when sustained over a long period of time.
And sometimes, even when the impact of all the above factors is positive, or at least minimally negative, things will not go well. Lifts will stall. Workout times will stagnate. You might even lose a few seconds or a few pounds off your lift.
What's an athlete to do?
Be patient.
Sounds like an odd answer, maybe, but there it is. Many of the above factors are just hard to control... unless you're a professional athlete and your performance in fitness (here defined by your sport) is your livelihood, the odds are some other things will take priority, so those stress sources may not be all that easy to mitigate. Yes, the truth is, we can always control our reaction to situations... we are captains of our souls... but, you know what, we're all human and stuff gets to us. Food and sleep are a little easier to manage, but even then... maybe your newborn is keeping you up at night. Maybe your kid is going through a phase where dinner is a battle every evening and trying to feed him/her and yourself is more work than it's worth, and your perfectly Paleo diet is suffering.
Be patient, it'll get better... as long as you're working at it.
Be patient, but not complacent!
Maybe you can't do anything about the new source of stress in your life right now. You can work to not let it affect you mentally when you're actually in the gym, though. So, yes, maybe your lifts are stalled... experiment. Try new approaches, try new programming, try different supplemental lifts, new cues, whatever. Just keep at it. Maybe you're going through a tough financial time and your diet is suffering because you're having to stretch every dollar, and that means that beans and rice have made their way back into your diet. That's OK, just make the best choices you can afford to make, and keep at it.
And, of course, know that you're not in it alone... it is my job to guide you through these times, to tweak your programming, help with your diet, and whatever else I can do to get you, and keep you, moving toward your goals. But even if you're reading this and don't train with me, there are resources out there to help you. You don't have to work alone, you just have to work.
Because, if you keep doing the work, eventually you will get unstuck. You will get over that barrier, out of that slump, back on the path. When you have a sub-par day, or week, or month at the gym, if you're still putting the work in then at least you're keeping your body fit and healthy, and you're keeping yourself in a ready state for whatever change in training or lifestyle comes along which turns out to be the key in getting you moving forward again.
Patience is a virtue, but only active patience... only patience with intention and a plan. Without the effort, patience is not patience at all, but complacence, and that's not useful to your training at all.
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