Are You Progressing As Quickly As You Should?

We all want to make big progress right? Of course we do, but at different times of our training timeline we will progress at different rates. I'm going to help you understand this, and figure out if you're progressing as quickly as you should relative to where your training age is at. The Beginner Let's start off with beginners progress. First we need to understand what goes on to make us stronger, because a common misconception is that this is just a biological/muscular adaptation. It's not just a case of "lift more = muscles get better". Muscles are only one part of the equation, and while yes they get bigger and that creates a greater strength potential, there is more to the process of gaining strength. There are also neurological adaptations involved in the form of both a skill acquisition element and improved motor unit recruitment element. This is mainly why in your first 1-2 years of weight training, you will see quicker progress than at any other point. You will be reaping the benefits of all three adaptations concurrently at a fast rate because:

1. You'll be learning and gaining increased competence in the skill of lifting rapidly, increasing your potential for loading through more efficient movement.

2. You'll be teaching your brain that movement and loading is safe, and letting you recruit more motor units before your brain puts the breaks on.

3. The new loading will be a huge stimulus for growth, increasing muscle cross-sectional area and increasing your strength potential.

This is why you will be able to progress in a linear fashion at a quick rate. Don't be surprised if you see 2.5kg a week/10kg a month in your initial months of training, especially on lower body lifts. By the time you've got your first 1-2 years of training under your belt you will want to have ridden this wave to the tune of:

• 1.5x Bodyweight Squat

• 1x Bodyweight Bench Press

• 2x Bodyweight Deadlift

• 1x Bodyweight Clean

• 5-10 Bodyweight Pull-Ups

These are totally achievable landmarks for the majority of guys. For girls you're looking more like:

• 1x Bodyweight Squat

• 0.6x Bodyweight Bench Press

• 1.5x Bodyweight Deadlift

• 0.6x Bodyweight Clean

• 1x Bodyweight Pull-Up

The Intermediate The Intermediate Stage is a lot longer than most people realise. When the next step is "advanced" and you consider what that may mean, you could be looking at being an intermediate for a good 5-10 years, or even the rest of your life. This is because progress inevitably slows. If we could continue adding 10kg a month to our lifts we'd all be deadlifting 400kg in well under 4 years. And that doesn't happen... Our progress becomes much less linear, and often requires periods of time focussing on different elements of strength and lifting well away from our maximum potential. You'll likely need to spend the majority of your time training around the 75-85% intensity mark, working to gain reps and volume rather than additional load, gradually building your capacity in the process. You'll then need to strip away some of the inevitable fatigue this causes, and taper down to peak strength. This could take 12-16 weeks as a relatively short strength cycle, and yield a 5-10% increase on your biggest lifts over that time as a decent return, especially the further along the line you get. That may also not be all your big lifts in the same training block, as some will start competing for recovery time due to the shared muscle groups involved. This is where you'll hear about people hitting a "Squat Cycle" or a "Deadlift Cycle" rather than both concurrently, and the shared muscles and structures involved will take too much of a battering. So to add a further 50-100% of your bodyweight to all those big lifts could take you a looooooong time. But that's not a problem, it's all a part of the challenge, and that's why it's so rewarding. Nothing worth having comes easy. The Advanced To an extent the following is true to the intermediate as well, but it's especially true for the advanced lifter. It gets to a certain point in your lifting life where progress comes much more from building on your weaknesses than building on your strengths. To up your back squat by 2-5% may require you to build up weak hamstrings. This may require weeks/months of work on your hamstrings before you can work more specifically back on your back squat with the appropriate loading for example. Plus, the stronger you get, the heavier each percentage increase is. If you're new to the gym and deadlifting 50kg, adding 5kg is a 10% increase. No big shakes. Often achievable. 10 years down the line when you're deadlifting 250kg that 10% increase is 25kg. That's huge. Plus, recovering from a session of 50kg deadlifts is much quicker than recovering from 250kg deadlifts. Repeat that for a 12 week cycle and you're building up a hell of a strain on the body at those big weights. You have to get used to seeing smaller increases, and taking longer periods away from your peak numbers the stronger you get. So as an advanced lifter, a 2% increase over 6 months may see you take your 250kg deadlift up to 255kg. I wouldn't turn my nose up at that. A Summary All the scenarios in this email are hypotheticals. Don't stress if you're putting yourself in a category and not hitting exactly what I've described in this text. Some will, some won't. There are a lot of variables in play beyond your training age. But, the newer you are to training, don't be afraid to progressively add load and ride the wave of physical and neurological adaptation. It'll never be quicker than in your first two years. As you train for longer, be prepared to adjust your approach to progression and take a longer term view. Anyone who's significantly stronger than you at a similar bodyweight has likely just been doing it longer. Strength adaptations take time. And sign up for being an intermediate for a while. Very few train well enough for long enough to be truly considered advanced, and that's not a bad thing. That's what makes strength training such a rewarding process. Thanks, Ian.