3 Ways To Get Your Progress Back On Track 

When you first got into the habit of exercising regularly (2-3 times per week) you may have noticed that results came quickly. As long you were consistent you would feel fitter/stronger, have more energy and look a little bit more toned/defined week on week.   

You’ll typically notice a linear trend for about 18-24 months. However, at around the 2-year point progress starts to slow down. This is the time to make adjustments to how you train and how often you train if you want to continue to make progress. 

Here is a simple 3-step process to follow if your progress is stalling.  

Step 1: make sure that you are following a structured programme: 

• It should be designed in order to achieve your goals- pay a professional to do this, it is worth the expense. 
• It should be tailored to your skill level and commitment capacity 
• It should be simple but progressive & challenging without being over complicated  

Step 2: Increasing intensity 

Often people start off their training journey in large group classes where fun and general movement are the founding principles. These keep you engaged and make you feel part of the tribe but they don’t provide the stimulus you need at this stage to keep progressing. Lifting heavy(ish) weights and doing challenging interval sets should be the backbone of your training from this stage onwards.  

This type of training is often perceived as boring and “not for me” by many who start off their training journey doing large group classes. Whilst I understand people’s reluctance to move away from what they enjoy and what has brought them results in the past if you want to continue to progress you will need to make this change. Thankfully there are more and more classes, like the ones at Coach London, that are now being tailored to provide the intensity of training needed to continue to progress. 

Step 3: Increase the density of your training 

This simply means doing more (volume) during your training sessions. A word of caution: be mindful of just doing extra “junk volume”. This refers to doing more reps, sets, and intervals, but not at the required intensity. Doing extra volume only has an effect if you can maintain the required intensity.  

So what does a programme like this actually look like? 

A good example would be a traditional Push, Pull, Legs programme that also has a day for arms and includes interval training on 2 of the weight training days.  

Below is an example of Leg day in this type of programme.  

If you would like help with your programme please email info@coachlondon.uk or call +44 (0) 207 315 4260 to arrange a consultation with a Coach.  

Written by Gus Martin, Principal Coach