Moving Forward

One of my clients gave me a valuable piece of feedback yesterday. He told me that from trainers he's worked with, I have helped him to progress. "You force me to progress," he told me. Apparently, other trainers would have him perform the same exercises at the same weight each time. That may or may not be exactly true, but surely it explains how he didn't really see much results. What I aim to do with all of my clients is to challenge them each time, whether that means more weight, a few more repetitions, or simply by tweaking exercises with small progressions in complexity. His partner even made a comment about seeing more muscle and how my client appears to be getting stronger. He certainly is on paper! If you are struggling to make improvements, I urge you to continually challenge yourself. Regarding weight training, shoot for a number of repititions, but don't stop! Most people stop at a specified number such as 10 when they might have been able to push out a few more. Those extra repetitions to failure are what will help your body the most to increase endurance and strength, allowing you to progress all the time. When it seems your progression is slowing, known as the "plateau effect", it's time to take a break in your routine and adjust your focus for a period of time. Switch up your individual exercises as well as your overall approach, and you will go through the process again and see more and more consistent results. The most important thing is your attitude. If you are optimistic and ambitious, you will surely have greater results and success. This obviously translates to your life outside of the gym as well, and it is one of the only things a trainer or someone else can't provide for you. Moving forward, keep...well...moving forward! Have a great day, and thanks for reading!