Starting A New Program
Starting a new program can be exciting, stressful, and exhausting. Whether you are an online client or an onsite client, either way it is like learning how to lift all over again. You will have misses, feel like crap, and sometimes want to cry. Just remember that this is part of the process and must be done so you can accomplish your goals. Here are a couple things to remember during the first week of your program.
1) Take a Deep Breath and Stretch
You are going to feel like crap, physically and mentally, so help yourself out and make sure to stretch so you can help the physical aspect of that. The better you feel physically, the easier it will be mentally. Day 1, you’ll be testing out the new movements and trying to complete them properly. Day 2, a little sore, it’s starting to get rough, still getting a feel for the movements. Day 3, the sh*t hits the fan. You’re feeling terrible, don’t want to lift, and you’re thinking about quitting... DO NOT QUIT. Take a moment and remember why you’re doing this, hit the pause button, and take a few moments to stretch and think about where you want to be in a month. Get a good night’s sleep on Day 3. Day 4, the soreness continues, but you feel slightly better about life. Day 5, normal lifts, you think you know what to do until you start to warm up and realize you still feel like crap and might not have a great day.
Bottom Line: The first week is usually the worst, just focus on breathing and stretching so you don’t feel terrible.
2) Missing One Lift Is Not The End of the World
At Garage Strength we preach technique, everything we do in programming is about technique. Another aspect of Garage Strength is not missing lifts as well. My motto, which I repeat not only to clients but myself, is “Make so many lifts you forget how to fail.” If you just make lift after lift and keep improving your technique, you will be less likely to fail. All of this said: yes we worship technique and hitting lifts, but we also know it is going to happen. Missing lifts is part of the process. Just don’t make it a habit. When you do miss, remember that it’s part of the process and isolated misses are important learning tools. Don’t lose your mind. Fix the issues and then smash it next rep. Any miss is fixable, so it isn’t worth losing your head over it.
3) Don’t Expect Numbered Results Immediately
You want to improve and probably want results immediately, but that isn’t realistic. You will have really good days and really bad days, but ultimately it may take 4-6 weeks before you start to feel normal and get the hang your new programming of the new program. The technical improvement you do see will add up into PRs eventually. You just need to stick to the program and trust the process.
If you enjoyed this insight on training, checkout Weightlifting U Programming Course.