Reflections on 2018: work, progress and patience
Reflections on 2018 is not a nostalgic ramble. It is an honest talk about why doing things properly, patience and seeing things through give you more in training than constantly searching for something new.
Reflections on 2018: what does “properly” mean?
You hear less and less often that someone does something truly PROPERLY, THOROUGHLY, IDEALLY. And not only in the gym. The same shows up at school, at work, in training and in habits at home. The words are still there, but their substance tends to get watered down.
Doing it properly means finishing the job. Not cutting corners. Not ticking a box on paper while half the work stays undone. In training this means simple things: the exercise is technically clean, the set is honest, rest is planned and the program isn’t swapped on every whim.
In teaching, sometimes the easiest thing is to give a 4 or a 5. Nobody comes back later to ask why it was a 5. But is that right? If the bar is set too low, a person quickly gets used to the idea that a high result comes without effort. In physical education, in the gym and in life more broadly, this catches up with you later.
Honestly, it’s hard to tell someone that today wasn’t good enough. It’s even harder to give a 2 when everyone wants to be good right away, the best right away, successful right away. But progress doesn’t come from praise alone. Progress comes when a person understands where they actually are and starts moving forward from there.
Why do work and patience matter?
Those who achieve big things quickly and suddenly have usually practiced for a long time beforehand. From the outside the result looks sudden. In reality, underneath are years of repetitions, failures and days when you simply had to show up.
This applies in training, music, business and learning. When a person can do the same basic thing for a long time and do it well, a foundation forms. Without a foundation, not even the newest training program, app or motivational quote will save you.
So what actually happens when we are constantly looking for something new? We shift our attention away from the work. A new program gives a good feeling for a moment. A new start is clean and comfortable. There you don’t yet have to admit that the previous program got hard, boring or uncomfortable.
A simple truth: the hard spot is often exactly where progress begins. If you change direction as soon as you get there, most of the benefit goes uncollected.
Reflections on 2018: don’t keep starting from scratch
Constantly changing things is very tempting in training. You take an 8-10 week program, follow it for 2-3 weeks and then start over with something else. At first it seems you are being active and looking for a better solution. In reality it can become a habit that keeps you stuck.
If a program is sensible, it needs time. The body needs to get repetitions, the nervous system needs to learn the movement and the training load needs to increase step by step. If you redo everything every little while, no part gets the chance to go deep enough.
It’s roughly like picking up 5 different books, reading the first couple of pages of each and then asking what you know about their content. Very little. Maybe you know the titles, maybe you sense the style, but real understanding doesn’t develop.
It’s the same story with training programs. You benefit from a program when you give it a chance. Not forever, not blindly, but long enough for the work to have any effect at all.
How do you actually get progress going?
Physical development doesn’t always have to be made complicated. Most of the time, progress doesn’t stall because the ideal tool, expensive equipment or perfect timing is missing. Much more often it stalls because of our own habits: inconsistency, too little effort, poor sleep, random eating or the wish to get the result before doing the work.
Start with what is under your control. Do you make it to training on the agreed days? Do you write down your weights? Does your technique hold when a set gets hard toward the end? Do you truly give yourself a chance to develop, rather than running from the first discomfort?
- Choose a sensible program and stick with it long enough.
- Do the basic exercises with proper technique.
- Add training load gradually, not according to your ego.
- Don’t change your plan just because the new one seems more exciting.
- Assess your work honestly, even when you don’t like the answer.
Patience doesn’t mean passivity. It means you do the necessary work even when the result doesn’t show up next week. That is exactly where a wish is told apart from real will.
FAQ: reflections on training and work
Aren’t you allowed to change your training program?
You are, but the reason has to be real. If the program doesn’t suit your health, goal or recovery, it has to be changed. If the reason is only boredom, first ask whether you have ever given that program an honest chance.
Why does fast progress often stall?
At the start the body often progresses quickly, because everything is new. Later you need more precise work, better recovery and more patience. Then simply showing up is no longer enough.
How do I know I’m doing it properly enough?
Look at the facts. Are your weights, repetitions or technique getting better? Can you do the same work consistently? If so, you’re on the right track. If everything is random, you need to put a system in place.
Author: Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
