Pushing Makes Progress

Hello everyone,

Adelaide here! Usually my husband Jacob is writing the Blog, but he has had a busy week and I might have a few thoughts of my own that I can share with you. As some of you may know, I have been a bodybuilding competitor for a few years now. When you train for bodybuilding, the typical volume in lifts tends to look like lifting lower weights for higher rep ranges. As I have gone through this training for a few years, I have realized that I used this way of training as an excuse to stay stuck at the same weights. Week after week, I used the same weights and did the same number of reps. Looking back on this now, I realize I really wasn’t pushing myself at all. I wasn’t seeing any progress because I wasn’t pushing myself to make any. I found myself falling out of love with lifting and not looking forward to working out anymore. I felt myself leaning more towards enjoying our Saturday HIIT sessions than my own lifts during the week because it was the only workout where I felt like I was working hard. I believe that this is one of the reasons that a lot of people lean more towards the more HIIT-style gyms. You don’t have to make the decision to challenge yourself and work hard in those classes because they are designed to keep you always moving, giving the illusion of doing something hard and making progress. When it comes to actual strength training, a lot of people underestimate how strong they actually are. They choose the lighter weights thinking that that is all they are capable of, and end up feeling either like they are not doing anything (not working hard enough) or they are doing something wrong. More often than not, they just need a little push and a little more confidence! After setting bodybuilding and physique goals to the side for a bit, I set some new strength, speed, and power goals. I started actually tracking all of my weights and increasing them every week, intentionally pushing each set until I only have 0-1 RIR (Reps In Reserve). For years I was stuck at 135lbs for squats, 185lbs for RDLs, 75lbs for Bench Press, and 3 Bodyweight Pull-Ups. Since just a few weeks ago when I started intentionally pushing myself, I have gotten those up to 185lbs for Squats, 185lbs for RDLS, 95lbs for Bench Press and 4 Pull-Ups weighted with 10lbs! These are weights I thought I would have to work years to get to. You wouldn’t think that a trainer would have trouble remembering to push themselves, but everyone can get stuck, especially when we start to doubt ourselves and forget to have a growth mindset. So here is your reminder: you CAN do more. You CAN make progress. Keeping a growth mindset in all areas of life will leave you open for all kinds of new skills and strengths! This is not the educational blog you will usually be getting, but I hope it inspires you to move that needle and push yourself a little further each time. Happy lifting!