Progression

What is Progression?  If you're weight training, it means a greater number of reps at a given weight in a given movement, or a  greater amount of weight in that movement.  If you're running, it's all about covering greater distance, or covering the same distance in less time.  Progression is a simple increase in work load.

What is work.  Check " P=w/t " blog right here at this site.  The measure of "work" is very simply an increase in intensity in your workout.  Check out the " Intensity " blog here at this site.

Take note.  What did you do last time?  What do you hope to be able to do?  The distance you need to cover from what you can do to what you wish to be able to do is your goal.  Progression is the incremental steps you can take to get from here to there.  If you're not "working", you are always the same distance from where you are to where you want to be.

I like weight training because it it so damn easy to check progress.  "Last week I benched 225lbs for 10 reps.  This week I benched 225lbs for 11 reps" or "I benched 230lbs for 8reps".  Either way it's progression.

Had a friend of mine, Beantown is what I call him, who loves the GPP just as much as I.  We had a few different movements we were working on one night, and the one he really excelled at was throwing an 8lb medicine ball from the ground up and over his head to as far behind his body as possible.  It took him only 2 tosses to traverse the property where we were working out.  It took me 3.  He felt very proud at his ability in this segment of the workout, but when I explained to him that his next test would be to either A) make the distance in 1 movement, or B) do the two throws in less time his response was "I did it in two, you did it in 3?".

Progression is always a test of you vs. you!  I don't care if the guy at the end of your block runs 20 miles a day.  I don't care if the guy at the other end of the block can bench 400lbs, and that you've heard rumor that there's another person 2 blocks over who can squat 1000lbs.  Your fight is the good fight!  You fight to push your body to the limits of what is genetically possible for you.

Don't give up.

I'm The Walleye, and I approved this message.