What's Missing From Your Program?

We all feel like we have that one thing that is missing from our training that will push us to the next level, but what is it?

Anyone that has tried to write up a strength program to enhance their performance understands that there are a lot of variables that go into selecting exercises, sets, and rep schemes. Many of us shoot to do the "perfect routine" but fall short again and again. In my experience as a strength coach, I will tell you there is no perfect program. Even individuals following a smart program are usually missing out on their MENTALITY, STRESS MANAGEMENT, and/or CONSISTENCY.

Mentality

Having the right mentality can be challenging these days, especially with the deception we see on social media from top athletes every day. There is no one size fits all when adjusting your mentality to training, but the most common issues I've seen with this falls into 2 camps. They are either going too hard all the time, or they are going too easy.

Many people try to sell you on having the mentality of going 110% all the time and leaving everything you got at the gym every day. Well I'm here to tell you that is not the case. I haven't been around a lot of elite athletes, but in the few instances that I have, they knew when to turn it on and when to turn it off. If these guys were going 100 miles an hour 24/7, they would be constantly burned out, hurt, and UNDER PERFORMING. Instead they evaluate what they are doing and perform hard when they need to.

On the other camp you have the individuals that take it too easy and don't take things seriously. When you do not hone in and give serious effort into what you are doing, its just a waste of time. There have been studies showing maximal intent can produce significant increases in rate of force development (1). Bottom line is, when you are in the moment of lifting weights, do it with intent rather than going through the motions.

Stress Management

The constant theme behind training is that there is no one size fits all approach to stress management. Generally speaking when it comes to stress management, most people fall into two extremes. There are some people that try to manage every aspect to the extreme that they are not enjoying life, while others do anything and everything to feel good in the moment. If you want to train for the long haul while achieving performance gains and happiness, there needs to be a balance!

Many people have seen the extreme in powerlifting where they do absolutely nothing outside of training and work when they are preparing for a meet. This causes many to mentally resent their own sport and wonder why they are competing in the first place. On the other hand you do need to make sacrifices to make sure you are recovered and steadily making progress. So what is the balance between these two? You want to be mindful of what you are doing outside of the gym, but realize your performance gains aren't going out the window from doing simple daily tasks that make you a functioning member to society. When it's time to do something fun, make sure that it is revitalizing your soul without beating down your body. Yes, it can be relaxing to go out on a weekend trip hiking through the mountains. However, if you are 2 weeks out from a competition, it may not be the best idea to go on a 15 mile hike. Instead you can go somewhere nearby and relax in the scenery.

Consistency

In all of my years coaching, consistency is the single biggest reason most people do not achieve the goals they want to achieve. Consistency is a unique aspect because it can tie in mentality and stress management together. Some people are not consistently pushing themselves hard in the gym while others are not consistent in giving themselves enough in how they manage their stress. The worst and most common thing I see is people being inconsistent when they train.

Personally I am proud to say that over the past 10 years, I have missed less than 15 training sessions that I haven't already planned. Most of those instances were during the 2-year span in my life when my job was serving as a strength coach for all athletics at a Div III College, a Div 1 High School, and training a handful of individual clients all while doing my Masters Degree online. The point is I am consistently training even on my bad days. Missing a day here and there may not seem like much, but over the course of a year, that time can add up real quick. For online coaching we use a software called True Coach. This software displays their compliance to the program in 7-day, 30-day, and 90-day increments. The only people I have had that have an issue in seeing progress are the ones that have less than 80% completion.

Jerett is one of my best performing online clients for the simple fact that he has been consistent for a long period of time!!!

Conclusion

Often times we are frustrated without progress when it comes to our performance leading us to think there is something missing from the picture. Most of the time there is something missing from the picture, but it is something that is easily within your control. Everyone has different scenarios that prevent them from making progress, but the vast majority of people will improve when they change their MENTALITY, STRESS MANAGEMENT, and/or CONSISTENCY.

(1) Blazevich, A. J., Wilson, C. J., Alcaraz, P. E., & Rubio-Arias, J. A. (2020). Effects of Resistance Training Movement Pattern and Velocity on Isometric Muscular Rate of Force Development: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis and Meta-regression. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 50(5), 943–963. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01239-x