It is the nature of my work that I read a fair amount about workout programs and systems and how to achieve goals. They’re all very neat and pretty. I have a recurring batch of fantasies about how someday I will find or make the perfect system, enabled by the perfect planner and suddenly the planets will align, my skin will be flawless, peace will break out throughout the earth, and I’ll never sink into the murk of despair again. I mentioned that this is a fantasy, right?
Here in Reality Land, it’s not quite so neat and pretty. We don’t all progress through the stages of a workout program at the same rate. Sometimes we hit a plateau and we have to get creative to climb off it. Sometimes we backslide. And, on special occasions, we progress faster than we expect. The nice clean workout sheets get marked up and corrected and scribbled on as we adjust to what is actually happening.
We do have the option of avoiding adjusting, but it’s not a good one. When we force our progress to adhere to an abstract idea of what it should be, we are asking for boredom if we happen to move faster or injury if we need a little more time. The key, as always, is to pay attention.
This, of course, is why a trainer can be handy. It’s my job to pay attention to how things are going, make the adjustments, and help my clients get to their goals. I’m here to customize the workouts for each individual and to shift in the moment if life has made unexpected left turns. I am not necessary, but I am useful.
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